Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Want to learn to draw? Start with your shoe.–The NY Times.

This summer, three spacecraft are blasting off to explore Mars. Learn more about their missions.-The NY Times.

Stephen Hawking suggested the universe has no beginning; scientists are starting to doubt that–Bloomberg.

SpaceX satellites keep cluttering up images of comets and such. (h/t Mike Smedley) –Bloomberg.

July 27, 1921~Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto.
July 27, 1866: Atlantic telegraph cable laid.
On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.  Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People row hired boats as they enjoy the summer weather on the River Nidd, underneath the Knaresborough Viaduct in North Yorkshire.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA WIRE

The Pacaya volcano, seen from Cerro Chino in San Vicente Pacaya municipality about 55 km south of Guatemala City
CREDIT: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP

People gather ourdoors at dusk on a viewpoint in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/FELIPE DANA
Market Closes for July 27th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26584.77	+114.88
		+0.43%
S&P 500	3239.41	+23.78
		+0.74%
NASDAQ	10536.270	+173.093 +1.67%
TSX	16159.48	+162.42
		+1.02%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22715.85	-35.76
		-0.16%
HANG SENG	24603.26	-102.07
		-0.41%
SENSEX	37934.73	-194.17
		-0.51%
FTSE 100*	6104.88	-18.94 -0.31%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.520	0.501
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.989	0.975
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6085	0.5888
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2512	1.2293

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74858	0.74526
US $	1.33587	1.34182
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56942	0.63718
US $	1.17483	0.85119

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1902.10	1878.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.60	41.14

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1694, amid choral chants of “Laus Deo” (Praise the Lord), the Bank of England opened for business in London to print currency and manage the national debt.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets climbed on Monday, led by health care and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1% in Toronto. Health Care stocks were the best performers, led by stocks such as Aphria Inc. which climbed 12%. Materials stocks also outperformed led by gold and silver miners. Gold hit a record high after a plunge in the U.S. dollar, negative real rates in the U.S. and bets the Federal Reserve will keep policy accommodative when it meets this week.
Silver also followed gold price’s rally.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in Canada showed renewed strength on an improving outlook for real estate and the economy, weekly telephone polling showed. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a composite measure of financial health and economic expectations, recorded its biggest one-week jump since mid-June, to 48.4 from 46.7 a week earlier.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.9% to ~$1,937.38 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose slightly to C$1.3360 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged higher to 0.521%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1 percent at 16,161.33 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.7 percent on July 14 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 153 of 221 shares rose, while 65 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.7 percent. Aphria Inc. had the largest increase, rising 12.0 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.2 percent
* The index declined 2.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.7 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 6.4 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21 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$2.43t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.14 percent compared with 12.98 percent in the previous session and the average of 18.63 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 87.2200| 3.5| 45/5
Information Technology | 51.0343| 3.3| 10/0
Health Care | 5.5838| 3.5| 6/3
Communication Services | 4.4338| 0.5| 7/1
Industrials | 3.7771| 0.2| 17/11
Consumer Discretionary | 3.4425| 0.6| 9/3
Utilities | 3.3322| 0.4| 10/6
Energy | 2.4795| 0.1| 11/11
Consumer Staples | 2.0880| 0.3| 8/3
Financials | 0.4815| 0.0| 17/8
Real Estate | 0.4023| 0.1| 13/14
US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, led by technology shares, on speculation the Federal Reserve will reinforce its dovish message. Gold jumped to a record, while the dollar fell.
The S&P 500 erased last week’s drop as the rebound in tech overshadowed a slide in banks. A slew of earnings reports from Nasdaq 100 companies over the next few days will offer clues on whether the gauge’s record-breaking advance through mid-July has been justified. Moderna Inc. soared after getting a second round of U.S. funding for an experimental vaccine for Covid-19 and kicking off its late-stage trial.
Setbacks in the global fight against coronavirus will probably push Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to signal Wednesday that rates will stay near zero for longer. Infections slowed in California, Arizona and Florida, though reported numbers are often incomplete on weekends. High-frequency economic indicators are pointing to a slowdown, which will only reinforce the Federal Open Market Committee’s dovish guidance.
“There can be some encouragement from low interest rates in terms of risk appetite,” said Chad Oviatt, director of investment management at Huntington Private Bank. “The Fed keeping interest rates low is still simulative and that’s a good thing to have when there is uncertainty around the pace of economic recovery.” Hedge funds rushed to unwind their bullish bets on U.S. tech stocks last week. They cut their net-long positions in Nasdaq 100 mini futures in half after pushing them to a nearly three-year high earlier this month.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings include Apple, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Chevron, RioTinto, L’Oreal, Caterpillar, Samsung, Barclays and Credit Suisse.
* The Federal Open Market Committee holds its policy meeting on Tuesday, with an announcement due on Wednesday.
* U.S. second-quarter GDP is expected on Thursday.
* China PMI data comes Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.9%.
* The euro climbed 0.8% to $1.1746.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.7% to 105.40 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points to 0.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped four basis points to -0.49%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 0.109%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.5%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.8% to $41.62 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.9% to $1,938.65 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Adam Haigh, Todd White, Yakob Peterseil, Lynn Thomasson and Cormac Mullen.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Rare though true love may be, true friendship is rarer still.
             -François Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 1630-1680

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.
Cave discoveries suggest humans reached the Americas much earlier than we thought. -Bloomberg.

The Pentagon’s UFO unit will make some findings public.-Bloomberg.

What a good friend: A Wisconsin man will share his $22 million lottery jackpot with a long-time friend because of a promise he made nearly three decades ago. The friend’s response is the best part of this story. –The Seattle Times.

On July 24, 1959, during a visit to the Soviet Union, Vice President Richard M. Nixon got into a discussion at a U.S. exhibition with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was dubbed the
”kitchen debate.”  Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A group of mountaineers walk roped on the ice of the Swiss Aletsch glacier, the longest glacier in Europe. With his project “Giants in motion”, the Swiss photographer, filmmaker and adventurer David Carlier photographed for several years, on foot, by paraglider and in his small Ecolight plane, the biggest ice flow and the first Unesco World Heritage Site of the Alps to shows the evolution of the Aletsch Glacier, a river of ice that stretches over 23 km from its formation in the Jungfrau region (at 4000 m) down to the Massa Gorge in Valais, around 2500m below.
CREDIT: LAURENT GILLIERON/KEYSTONE VIA AP

A young visitor imitates the march of a guardsman from the Queen’s Royal Hussars at Windsor Castle which has reopened to the public after the lifting of further coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England.
CREDIT: JONATHAN BRADY/PA WIRE

Visitors walk by Chesterton Windmill in Chesterton, Warwickshire, UK.
CREDTI: JACOB KING/PA WIRE
Market Closes for July 24th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26469.89	-182.44
		-0.68%
S&P 500	3215.63	-20.03
		-0.62%
NASDAQ	10363.177	-98.240 -0.94%
TSX	15997.06	-21.59
		-0.13%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22751.61	-132.61
		-0.58%
HANG SENG	24705.33	-557.67
		-2.21%
SENSEX	38128.90	-11.57
		-0.03%
FTSE 100*	6123.82	-87.62 -1.41%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.501	0.503
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.975	0.987
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5888	0.5774
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2293	1.2311

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74526	0.74607
US $	1.34182	1.34036
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56405	0.63936
US $	1.16562	0.85791

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1878.30	1852.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.14	41.02

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1987, the corporate assets of ZZZZ Best Co. were sold at bankruptcy auction in Los Angeles for $62,000. Less than four months earlier, the carpet-cleaning company run by 21-year-old whiz kid Barry Minkow had a stock-market value of roughly $300 million, and the stock had more than quadrupled since its IPO in 1986. But ZZZZ Best (pronounced “ze best”) had virtually no customers, revenues or assets, and Minkow had set up an elaborate system of phantom offices and phony account records. Minkow served five years in federal prison.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell Friday on concern over rising Chinese-American tensions and worries the recovery in the world’s largest economy has stalled.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1% on Friday, its third decline in four days. Material stocks rose the most, climbing 2.1%, led by gold’s rally. Spot gold topped $1,900 an ounce for the first time since 2011 and edged closer to an all-time high with flaring geopolitical tensions and concern over global growth driving demand for haven assets.
As economies struggle to recover from the pandemic, investors piling into precious metals may be overlooking another potential haven: wood. Lumber futures have doubled since early April and are the top-performing major raw material this year. Surprisingly, wood is even outshining gold and silver, traditionally the go-to haven commodities.
Cenovus Energy Inc. is taking advantage of a plunge in the price for credits that allow the oil-sands company to produce more than limits imposed by Alberta.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to ~$1,902.03 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell slightly to C$1.3417 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged lower to 0.501%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.1 percent, or 21.59 to 15,997.06 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 14.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.5 percent. Ecn Capital Corp. had the largest drop, falling 4.6 percent.
Today, 146 of 221 shares fell, while 72 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.1 percent
* The index declined 3.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 43.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.8 on a trailing basis and 24.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.44t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.98 percent compared with 13.42 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.01 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -43.6180| -1.0| 1/24
Utilities | -8.4433| -1.0| 0/16
Consumer Staples | -4.5554| -0.7| 1/10
Information Technology | -4.1767| -0.3| 2/8
Energy | -3.1649| -0.2| 10/12
Consumer Discretionary | -2.3523| -0.4| 3/10
Industrials | -2.1662| -0.1| 6/22
Communication Services | -1.4213| -0.2| 2/6
Real Estate | -1.2796| -0.3| 7/20
Health Care | -0.8217| -0.5| 3/5
Materials | 50.4309| 2.0| 37/13
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for a second day as investors grew anxious about rising tensions with China and a potential stalling of the economic recovery. Spot gold topped $1,900 an ounce for the first time since 2011.
The S&P 500 ended the week lower and the Nasdaq 100 notched its first back-to-back losses in 49 days. Intel Corp. plunged on a warning of a production delay. Rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gained. Verizon Communications Inc. gained after topping sales estimates, somewhat offsetting Intel’s drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
China ordered the U.S. to shut a consulate in a tit-for-tat retaliation, sending equities lower in Asia and Europe. The dollar extended this week’s slide to the weakest level since January, and the offshore yuan dipped. Core European bonds fell after U.S. Treasuries turned lower. Five-year Treasury yields touched an all-time low before bouncing back. Oil held above $41 a barrel in New York.
Beijing’s latest move further strains the increasingly fraught relationship with the U.S., which forced China to leave its mission in Houston earlier this week. The two superpowers have also recently clashed on trade and early handling of the coronavirus, raising fears of a protracted conflict.
“We won’t be surprised if there is some sell-off because investors are shifting focus back to this geo-political tension,” Janet Mui, an investment director at Brewin Dolphin, said on Bloomberg TV.
Also hitting sentiment was the first uptick in U.S. jobless claims since March on Thursday. A reading on the services sector Friday added to concern, though housing data was strong. While European manufacturing data for July showed a return to growth, firms cut jobs for a fifth straight month. Earnings beats keep rolling in, though they’re coming against low expectations.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.6% to 3,202.73 as of 4 p.m. New York time, the lowest in more than a week.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.7% to 26,469.55.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.9% to the lowest in almost three weeks.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1.7% to 367.29, the lowest in more than a week on the biggest drop in four weeks.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.6% to 1,186.88, the lowest in more than six months.
*The euro climbed 0.4% to $1.1643, reaching the strongest in about 22 months on its sixth consecutive advance.
*The Japanese yen appreciated 0.8% to 105.97 per dollar, the strongest in almost 19 weeks on the largest increase in more than six weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries was edged up to 0.58%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.45%, the largest gain in more than a week.
*Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.144%.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $41.21 a barrel.
*Gold futures strengthened 0.5% to $1,899.6 an ounce, .
*Copper dipped 1.7% to $2.89 a pound, the lowest in a week on the largest decrease in almost six weeks.
–With assistance from Mark Gilbert and Yakob Peterseil.
Have a  wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

In summer, the song sings itself.  -William Carlos Williams, 1883-1963.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Here’s another study on how dark chocolate is good for your health.  Pass it on. –CNN.

Good News for Muppets Fans:
Miss Piggy hosts a beauty and lifestyle vlog. The Swedish Chef stars in a cooking competition. Dr. Honeydew and Beaker take you through high-octane science tests. These are among the sketches in “Muppets Now,” a new series on Disney+ parodying internet culture. –NY Times.

July 23, 1995: Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later.

On July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I. Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The comet Neowise is seen above the Joshua Tree National Park in Twentynine Palms, California.
CREDIT: RINGO CHIU/ZUMA WIRE

The Milky Way shines brightly in the clear night sky above Corfe Castle in Dorset.
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Surfers are seen catching a wave at Bronte beach in Sydney, Australia.
CREDIT: JENNY EVANS/GETTY IMAGES

Grey Reef Shark; Australia. A new landmark study has revealed sharks are absent on many of the world’s coral reefs, indicating they are too rare to fulfill their normal role in the ecosystem, and have become functionally extinct.
CREDIT: GLOBAL FINPRINT/SWNS

Market Closes for July 23rd , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26652.33	-353.51
		-1.31%
S&P 500	3235.66	-40.36
		-1.23%
NASDAQ	10461.418	-244.709 -2.29%
TSX	16018.65	-152.41
		-0.94%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22751.61	-132.61
		-0.58%
HANG SENG	25263.00	+205.06
		+0.82%
SENSEX	38140.47	+268.95
		+0.71%
FTSE 100*	6211.44	+4.34 +0.07%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.503	0.508
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.987	1.002
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5774	0.5987
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2311	1.2943

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74607	0.74548
US $	1.34036	1.34143
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55432	0.64337
US $	1.15963	0.86235

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1852.40	1842.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.02	41.85

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1996, just three days after telling the New York Times that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was heading for 6400, stock guru Elaine Garzarelli told her clients to get out of the market.  Her forecast that stocks would drop 15% to 25%, which would put the Dow at about 4300, helped send stocks plunging. But Ms. Garzarelli turned out to be off the mark: The Dow never again came within 1,000 points of 4300.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell Thursday as investors reassessed economic headwinds stemming from the coronavirus. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.9%, the most since June 26. Ten of 11 sectors retreated. Ballard Power Systems Inc., the second-best performing stock in Canada this year, is a new short at Lakewood Capital, the firm said in its quarterly letter, calling it a “consistently loss-making and cash-burning Canadian company.”  Shares fell 10%. Two of Canada’s largest oil-sands producers plan to conserve cash until they have more confidence that a recovery from crude’s historic price crash has staying power.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.7% to ~$1,885 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.3416 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged lower to 0.504%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.9 percent at 16,018.65 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.7 percent on June 26 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.0 percent. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. had the largest drop, falling 16.2 percent. Today, 158 of 221 shares fell, while 62 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.7 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.2 percent
* The index declined 3.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.1 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 43.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 2.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.42 percent compared with 18.64 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.33 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -45.0066| -1.8| 12/38
Information Technology | -30.9805| -1.9| 4/6
Energy | -28.0305| -1.4| 4/20
Financials | -21.9641| -0.5| 6/19
Industrials | -15.3937| -0.8| 6/22
Health Care | -5.6797| -3.4| 2/7
Consumer Discretionary | -3.7707| -0.7| 5/8
Communication Services | -2.7012| -0.3| 2/6
Real Estate | -2.1701| -0.4| 6/21
Utilities | -2.0847| -0.3| 7/8
Consumer Staples | 5.3630| 0.8| 8/3
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled to the lowest in a week after an unexpected rise in jobless claims rekindled concern the economic recovery has stalled. The dollar weakened and Treasuries rose. The S&P 500 Index slipped from a four-month high, led by losses in technology firms and companies that make non-essential consumer goods. The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped to a two-week low and turned lower for the week, erasing Monday’s rally that was the biggest since April. Twitter Inc. jumped after daily-user growth surged, but Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc. each lost more than 3%. . Microsoft Corp. slumped after cloud growth slowed. Tesla Inc. slid even after results beat estimates. The first uptick in jobless claims since March comes as Congress negotiates a new relief package for millions of Americans who are set to lose enhanced benefits at the end of the month. Other worrying signs of economic slowing added to concern that the torrid growth in some areas will stall out. “The recovery is in place, but the labor market is really, really fragile,” said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group. “That’s going to weight on the markets and it’s going to weigh on consumers for a long time.” The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.58%, while Bloomberg’s dollar index weakened for a fifth straight day. Crude slumped, while precious metals continued their torrid run of gains that have taken gold and silver prices to multiyear highs.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index increased on gains in carmakers and consumer products, led by Unilever NV’s jump after sales fell less than expected. The yield on Italy’s benchmark bonds fell below 1% for the first time since March amid euphoria over the Europe Union’s pandemic recovery package. Positive signals emerging from an earnings season that is expected to be historically weak had been driving investors into risk assets. An increase in U.S.-China tensions and a resurgence in the virus across large swaths of America deadened some of that optimism. “Whenever the markets get to a point where there’s something just around the corner that they’re very focused on, that is when they sort of stop — whether they were trending higher or trending lower — they sort of start to trend sideways, but get choppy intra-day and start reacting more or less to headlines,” said Shawn Cruz, senior manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade Inc.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Quarterly earnings gather steam, with reports due from Intel and Mattel.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index fell 1.2% to 3,235 as of 4 p.m. New York time, the first retreat of the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 2.3%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed up 0.1%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 0.1%.
The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1593, reaching the strongest in more than 21 months on its fifth consecutive advance.
The Japanese yen added 0.3% to 106.84 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.58%, the lowest in three months.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.48%.
Britain’s 10-year yield was at 0.12%, the lowest on record.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.6% to $41.24 a barrel.
Gold futures strengthened 1% to $1,882 an ounce, reaching the highest in about nine years on its fifth consecutive advance.
Copper climbed 0.3% to $2.94 a pound.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure –
these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering
that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something
to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
                                                                                                       -Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

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: July 22, 1376 ~ Pied Piper of Hamelin
The story is that the town of Hamelin (Hameln), in Westphalia, was infested with rats in 1284, and that a mysterious piper in a parti-colored suit appeared in the town and offered to rid it of the vermin for a certain sum, which offer was accepted by the townspeople. The Pied Piper fulfilled his contract but the payment was not forthcoming.  On the following St. John’s Day he reappeared and played his pipe. This time all the children followed him and he led them to a mountain cave, where all disappeared save two: one blind, the other dumb or lame.  Another version is that they were led to Transylvania where they formed a German colony.  The story, familiar in England from Robert Browning’s poem (1842), appeared earlier in James Howell’s Familiar Letters (1645-55).  The Legend has its roots in the story of the children’s crusade.  The confusion of dates is because the Brothers Grimm cite 26 June 1284 as the date the Pied Piper led the children out of the town, while the poem by Robert Browning gives it as 22 July 1376. –Brewer’s.

Scientists capture the first images of a planetary system around a Sun-like star. -Bloomberg.

1942- Warsaw Ghetto Jews (300,000) are sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists and alpinists visit the Aiguille du Midi near the Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France
CREDIT: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE

The Milky Way shines brightly in the clear night sky above St Catherine’s Chapel at Abbotsbury in Dorset.
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

French salt farmer Stephane Bouleau harvests salt in the salt marshes of Batz-sur-Mer near Guerande, France
CREDIT: REUTERS/STEPHAN MAHE
Market Closes for July 22nd , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27005.84	+165.44
		+0.62%
S&P 500	3276.02	+18.72
		+0.57%
NASDAQ	10706.129	+25.765 +0.24%
TSX	16171.06	+8.10
		+0.05%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22751.61	-132.61
		-0.58%
HANG SENG	25057.94	-577.72
		-2.25%
SENSEX	37871.52	-58.81
		-0.16%
FTSE 100*	6207.10	-62.63 -1.00%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.508	0.516
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.002	0.988
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5987	0.6004
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2943	1.3071

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74548	0.74313
US $	1.34143	1.34566
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55232	0.64420
US $	1.15722	0.86414

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1842.55	1815.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.85	41.96

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1946, the Bretton Woods Agreement was signed in Mount Washington, N.H., pegging major foreign currencies to the U.S. dollar, fixing the gold price at $35 per ounce and laying the groundwork for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks edged higher Wednesday while U.S. shares also rose.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.1%, with six of the benchmark’s 11 main sectors higher. Communication services fell  after an earnings miss from Rogers Communications Inc.
Silver futures climbed to the highest in almost seven years and gold continued its march toward a record on expectations there’ll be more stimulus to help the global economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Canada’s oil-sands producers are taking their time at restoring production, leaving the country’s normally congested pipelines with room to spare.
And Canadian National Railway Co. is prepared to park equipment and furlough workers if there is a second wave of virus shutdowns this fall, CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest said.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.4% to ~$1,868 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4% to C$1.3412 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged lower to 0.508

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 16,171.06 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.9 percent. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 14.1 percent.
Today, 116 of 221 shares rose, while 101 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.2 percent
* The index declined 2.1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI  AC Americas Index gained 9.1 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1 on a trailing basis and 24.9 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$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 18.64 percent compared with 18.86 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.66 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 19.3037| 0.8| 31/17
Industrials | 7.7686| 0.4| 13/15
Real Estate | 4.9930| 1.0| 21/6
Consumer Staples | 4.2846| 0.6| 8/3
Consumer Discretionary | 3.8109| 0.7| 11/2
Information Technology | 0.5614| 0.0| 4/6
Health Care | -1.1541| -0.7| 2/7
Energy | -2.5480| -0.1| 7/16
Utilities | -4.6905| -0.6| 6/9
Communication Services | -9.6384| -1.1| 2/6
Financials | -14.5907| -0.3| 11/14
US
By Amena Saad and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day as investor optimism over the likelihood for a new spending bill and potential coronavirus vaccines outweighed concern about an escalation of tensions with China. The dollar weakened to the lowest level since March.
The S&P 500 jumped to a five-month high, with utilities, real estate and industrial shares leading the gains. Trump administration officials are said to be discussing a short-term extension of unemployment insurance before the benefits lapse.
Futures had retreated overnight on news that the U.S. ordered China’s Houston consulate to quickly close.
“You are going to have that volatility, but people are looking through a lot of it,” said Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist for Crossmark Global Investments. “People are doing that now for just about everything.” Progress on combating the virus’s impact also contributed to sentiment. Pfizer Inc. shares rallied after saying the government ordered up to 600 million doses of its vaccine candidate against Covid-19. Treasuries were little changed, while silver continued its tear, climbing to the highest level in almost seven years.
Fresh Sino-U.S. tension including new charges of Chinese hacking had added to potential risks weighing on investors who recently drove global equities to a five-month high. After the success of a European rescue package this week, Senate Republicans and the Trump administration are struggling to reach consensus on another stimulus plan.
“I’m more concerned going into the August, September period: what’s going to then be the next catalyst to take the broader market higher,” Andrew Sheets, a cross-asset strategist at Morgan Stanley, said on Bloomberg TV. It’s going to be “a tougher period for stocks,” he said.
Earnings remained in focus. Texas Instruments Inc. dropped after urging caution. Snap Inc. tumbled following a miss on its user-growth targets.
Elsewhere, oil in New York dropped from a four-month high on signs of a surprise gain in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Quarterly earnings gather steam, with reports due from Blackstone Group, Roche, Intel, Unilever, Canadian Pacific, Daimler, Hyundai and Mattel.
* U.S. weekly jobless claims come on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index increased 0.6% to 3,276.08 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest in five months.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 27,005.66, the highest in six weeks on the biggest gain in a week.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.2% to 10,706.13.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.9% to 373.44, the biggest dip in four weeks.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.3% to 1,191.97, the lowest in more than 19 weeks.
*The euro gained 0.4% to $1.1574, the strongest in about 21 months.
*The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 107.20 per dollar, the largest dip in four weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.60%, the lowest in three months.
*Germany’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to -0.49%, the lowest in almost two months on the largest decrease in almost three weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 0.12%, the lowest on record.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.2% to $41.84 a barrel.
*Gold strengthened 1.4% to $1,868.52 an ounce, the highest in about nine years on the biggest jump in almost 11 weeks.
*Copper dipped 1.1% to $2.93 a pound, the first retreat in a week.
–With assistance from Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It would be very nice if at the end of our lives we could feel that we’d never done anyone any harm.
                                           -Agatha Christie, 1890-1976

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 July 21, 1925, the ”monkey trial” ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.) Go to article »

Polar bears may become nearly extinct by the end of the century as a result of shrinking sea ice in the Arctic if global warming continues unabated, scientists said-NY Times

Stars aligned. Hundreds of astrophysicists from around the world teamed up to produce the largest 3D map of the universe that tracks its growth over 11 billion years and details more than 2 million galaxies and quasars. -Bloomberg.

A hungry caterpillar munching on ice cream, a smiling sun peeking over the horizon: Scroll through the sweet illustrations of the children’s author Eric Carle.-Bloomberg.
Four or 40 years old, inflatable pools are for everyone now.-Bloomberg.
The app of the summer is a random-number generator.-Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This adorable images shows a trio of Raccoons poking their heads out of their den. The perfectly timed images was captured by Canadian photographer Kevin Biskaborn in the South Western region of Ontario. The three Raccoon cubs clamber over each other to get a peek.
CREDIT: KEVIN BISKABORN/ SWNS

Members of public watch the sun as it rises over the London skyline earlier this morning from Richmond Park, UK. The weather is set to be sunny in the capital city over the next few days.
CREDIT: RICK FINDLER

Tourists stroll through lavender fields at Farm Tomita in Nakafurano in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
CREDIT: NEWSCOM/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Market Closes for July 21st , 2020 

 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26840.40	+159.53
		+0.60%
S&P 500	3257.30	+5.46
		+0.17%
NASDAQ	10680.363	-86.729 -0.81%
TSX	16162.96	-20.70
		-0.13%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22884.22	+166.74
		+0.73%
HANG SENG	25635.66	+577.67
		+2.31%
SENSEX	37930.33	+511.34
		+1.37%
FTSE 100*	6269.73	+8.21 +0.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.516	0.514
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.988	0.982
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6004	0.6102
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3071	1.3116

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74313	0.73876
US $	1.34566	1.35362
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55063	0.64490
US $	1.15232	0.86781

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1815.65	1807.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.96	40.81

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1933, as Wall Street began to digest the implications of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal”—including the Glass-Steagall Act, enacted just over one month earlier—the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.8% (or 7.55 points) to close the day at a dismal 88.71.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower Tuesday despite a strong start to the session, weighed down by technology
shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.1%, with Shopify Inc. dropping 6.4%, leading tech equities lower. Energy posted a strong session as oil rose to the highest level since early March in London.
Canadian retail sales have rebounded sharply after historic declines in March and April, with vendors making up almost all of their pandemic losses, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
On the virus front, Covid antibodies in patients with mild symptoms fade quickly, raising concerns that their immunity from a future infection may not last very long, researchers said in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to ~$1,841 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.6% to C$1.3454 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged lower to 0.514%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1 percent at 16,162.96 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 6.4 percent.
Today, 123 of 221 shares fell, while 94 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.2 percent
* The index declined 2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1 on a trailing basis and 24.9 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$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 18.86 percent compared with 19.07 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.71 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -77.9186| -4.6| 2/8
Industrials | -19.6215| -1.0| 7/21
Consumer Staples | -12.7391| -1.8| 1/10
Real Estate | -6.2930| -1.3| 3/24
Utilities | -4.9544| -0.6| 4/11
Communication Services | -3.9072| -0.5| 2/6
Consumer Discretionary | -3.1988| -0.6| 7/5
Health Care | -1.7040| -1.0| 3/5
Materials | 17.3081| 0.7| 28/21
Financials | 20.3239| 0.4| 14/11
Energy | 72.0108| 3.7| 23/1
US
By Todd White
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks eked out a third straight gain, though finished well off session highs after Senator Mitch McConnell cast doubt on reaching a fresh rescue bill before some current benefits expire.
The S&P 500 rode a rally in energy and financial stocks to a fresh four- month high. Its advance was checked when the Senate majority leader told Politico he doesn’t expect a bill to pass within two weeks. Stocks were higher for most of the session after European Union leaders clinched a rescue package. That also sent the euro to the highest since 2019.
“We are very likely getting a deal, but we should also expect dramatic headlines and the volatility associated with them,” said Dennis DeBusschere, a strategist at Evercore ISI.
Tech shares led declines a day after the biggest rally since April. Corporate earnings and positive vaccine news had boosted sentiment. Texas Instruments reported earnings after the close. Oil surged, lifting Exxon Mobil and Chevron in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Nasdaq 100 edged lower after closing at an all-time high, with investors awaiting a spate of mega cap tech earnings later this week. The gauge has surged 25% in 2020, in large part to a meteoric advance in Amazon.com Inc., which added $117 billion to its market value just on Monday.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Quarterly earnings gather steam, with reports due from Microsoft, Blackstone Group, Roche, Intel, Unilever, Canadian Pacific, Tokyo Steel, Daimler, Hyundai and Mattel.
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* U.S. weekly jobless claims come on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 1.1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 2.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.7%.
* The euro rose 0.6% to $1.1521.
* The British pound gained 0.6% to $1.2732.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 106.80 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped to 0.60%.
* The two-year rate fell to 0.139%
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to -0.46%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped less two basis points to 0.136%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.8% to $41.96 a barrel.
* Silver strengthened 5.2% to $20.94 per ounce.
* Iron ore rose 1.9% to $108.02 per metric ton.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann

All great things are simple, and many can be expressed
in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
                                 -Sir 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: Moon Day.
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Go to article »

You can catch Comet NEOWISE — one of the brightest comets in a generation — without a telescope. Here’s how. –The NY Times.

Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to see the comet NEOWISE in the sky this month. Take advantage now, because once it disappears from view it won’t be
visible here for another 6,800 years. -CNN.

Japanese company makes masks that can translate and transcribe speech. (h/t Uffe Galsgaard), Bloomberg.

Six ways to think about the long term. –Bloomberg. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Milky Way galaxy is seen in the sky above the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada.
CREDIT: DAVID BECKER/AFP

Colourful wildflowers next to Whitburn Windmill near Sunderland.
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA WIRE

An eagle shows it would be a dab hand as a contortionist as it bends it’s head backwards to see what is happening behind it. The incredible moment was captured along the banks of the Chobe River in Botswana.
CREDIT: NEAL COOPER/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Derbyshire landscape at sunrise. Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith area, UK.
CREDIT: JOHN FINNEY/WENN

Market Closes for July 20th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26680.87	+8.92
		+0.03%
S&P 500	3251.84	+27.11
		+0.84%
NASDAQ	10767.094	+263.904 +2.51%
TSX	16183.66	+60.18
		+0.37%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22717.48	+21.06
		+0.09%
HANG SENG	25057.99	-31.18
		-0.12%
SENSEX	37418.99	+398.85
		+1.08%
FTSE 100*	6261.52	-28.78 -0.46%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.514	0.526
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.982	1.005
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6102	0.6266
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3116	1.3289

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73876	0.73620
US $	1.35362	1.35832
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54924	0.64548
US $	1.14452	0.87373

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1807.35	1807.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	40.81	40.59

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landed their Eagle lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility on the surface of the moon. The world watched dumbstruck as the historic event was broadcast live, but Wall Street yawned, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4% the following trading day.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose to their highest level since March 5 as information technology and materials stocks outperformed. Investors also assessed encouraging news on a potential virus vaccine. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.4%. Shopify Inc. rose 8.5%, leading tech shares higher. Nine of eleven sectors still lagged. Silver futures latched on to gold’s rally, climbing above $20 an ounce to the highest since 2016 on rising haven demand and concerns about supply of the white metal. Meanwhile, one analyst sees Loblaw Cos. suffering a quarterly hit to profits as second-quarter results are due later this week.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,814.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3538 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.511%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 60.18 to 16,183.66 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 5. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 2 of 11 sectors gained; 92 of 221 shares rose, while 126 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 8.5 percent. SilverCrest Metals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.2 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.3 percent
* The index declined 1.8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8.6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.3 on a trailing basis and 25 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$2.45t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 19.07 percent compared with 19.16 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.76 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 90.6287| 5.7| 9/1
Materials | 47.9169| 2.0| 40/10
Real Estate | -0.7612| -0.2| 9/17
Health Care | -1.7540| -1.0| 3/6
Industrials | -2.2744| -0.1| 13/15
Consumer Staples | -2.7601| -0.4| 1/10
Utilities | -5.0492| -0.6| 5/11
Consumer Discretionary | -6.0416| -1.1| 2/11
Communication Services | -14.5234| -1.7| 0/7
Financials | -21.0653| -0.5| 8/16
Energy | -24.1332| -1.2| 2/22
US
By Anchalee Worrachate and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced to the highest since February, with the stay-at-home trade thriving even as investors received encouraging news on a potential virus vaccine. The dollar weakened to an almost six-week low. The S&P 500 turned positive for the year as its rally took it to levels last seen just as the pandemic was starting. The Nasdaq 100 jumped the most since April, hitting a record high, after Amazon.com and Zoom Technologies soared on demand for companies that benefit from diminished economic activity. AstraZeneca jumped to a record after results from a vaccine trial were published, but the rally faded after analysts said the data, while good, weren’t as stellar as hoped for. A slew of earnings are due this week, including from Microsoft, Intel, Tesla and Twitter. Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are starting to hammer out a rescue package to replace some of the expiring benefits earlier versions contained. Euro- area leaders appeared close to an agreement on stimulus, while the total size of the recovery package is in flux, an earlier proposal was for 750 billion euros ($858 billion).
Italy’s 10-year bond yield spread over Germany, a key gauge of risk in the euro region, fell to the lowest level since March. Oil climbed above $40 a barrel. European stocks advanced. EU Holdouts Ready to Accept 390 Billion Euros in Grants for Fund While stock markets have inched higher in recent weeks, there are still plenty of worries about the health of the global economy, especially with the virus spreading unabated in parts of the U.S. In the euro area, unemployment could hit almost 10% by the end of the year as the economy slumps, according to a Bloomberg survey. A Jobless Recovery Is Becoming a Real Risk for Europe’s Economy New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to close down all bars and restaurants if large street gatherings continue and his social distance and mask regulations aren’t enforced. Hong Kong added a record 108 infections, will require civil servants to work from home and plans to mandate wearing of masks in all shared indoor areas. ”The economic dislocation of Covid-19 triggered a tremendous response by fiscal and monetary policy makers as well as central banks,” said Gene Tannuzzo, a portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle. “These measures helped to stabilize markets, yet we still find ourselves in an environment of continuous low growth.”
Here are some key events coming up:
* Quarterly earnings gather steam, including Blackstone Group, Microsoft, Roche, Intel, Unilever, Canadian Pacific, UBS, Tokyo Steel, Daimler, Hyundai and Mattel.
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* U.S. weekly jobless claims come on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.8% to 3,251.84 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest in five months.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.5% to 10,767.09, the highest on record with the biggest climb in almost 12 weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 26,680.93.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.8% to 375.51, the highest in more than 19 weeks.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,202.49, the lowest in almost six weeks.
The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1445, the strongest in 19 weeks.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.3% to 107.32 per dollar, the weakest in almost two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.61%, the lowest in more than 11 weeks on the biggest fall in a week.
Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.46%.
Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.151%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.2% to $40.68 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,818.48 an ounce, the highest in about nine years.
Copper advanced 0.6% to $2.92 a pound, the largest gain in a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.
                                  -Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592

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.
It’s World Emoji Day. How are we using them to talk about the coronavirus?
Even our emojis mask up!  -CNN.

June 17, 1918: Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed.

1955- Disneyland opened

On July 17, 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind. Go to article »

July 17, 2014- Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down over Eastern Ukraine by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A photo taken with a drone shows an aerial view of the heart of shrubs in a meadow by Lake Myczkowieckie in Solina, south east Poland. The owner of one local resorts, created this heart to commemorate his late wife.
CREDIT: DAREK DELMANIWICZ/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A clear night in the New South Wales ski region has allowed visitors to view the Milky Way over consecutive nights in Charlotte Pass, Australia. Charlotte Pass ski resort has been making the most of colder weather by making snow at night to improve conditions for visitors and allowing those who are on school holidays to visit the New South Wales ski region.
CREDIT: BILL BLAIR#JM/GETTY IMAGES

Penguins who couldn’t be entertained properly at a zoo during lockdown have been cheered up with a bubble machine. The birds are usually kept occupied by feeding shows and guests visiting the zoo, but due to coronavirus their daily routine was forced to change. Staff at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, UK, were trying to find a way to keep them entertained, and then someone kindly donated a bubble machine. Keeper Dan Trevelyan said the penguins, as predators, love chasing the bubbles as it keeps their reflexes sharp.

Market Closes for July 17th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26671.95	-62.76
		-0.23%
S&P 500	3224.73	+9.16
		+0.28%
NASDAQ	10503.190	+29.361 +0.28%
TSX	16123.48	+98.98
		+0.62%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22696.42	-73.94
		-0.32%
HANG SENG	25089.17	+118.48
		+0.47%
SENSEX	37020.14	+548.46
		+1.50%
FTSE 100*	6290.30	+39.61 +0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.526	0.505
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.005	0.996
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6266	0.6168
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3289	1.3096

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73620	0.73686
US $	1.35832	1.35711
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55207	0.64430
US $	1.14264	0.87517

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1807.70	1804.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	40.59	40.75

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1861, the first paper money payable on demand, whose color gave our bills the nickname “greenbacks,” was issued by the U.S. government.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets climbed on Friday, led by gold and silver miners as the prices for the metals rallied. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.6% in Toronto. The index stayed buoyed above the 16,000 level that hasn’t been seen since March. Gold’s rally is putting miners on track for their longest winning streak in more than a year as investors continue to flock to safe havens due to the coronavirus crisis. Silver spot price also rallied close to $20 an ounce. On the M&A front, TDR Capital is considering teaming up with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., for a fresh run at U.S. gas station operator Speedway after owner Marathon Petroleum Corp. revived plans for a potential sale of the business that could fetch more than $15 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, Dye & Durham Ltd., a provider of software for legal and business professionals, surged in its Toronto trading debut after raising C$150 million ($110 million) in its initial public offering.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $1,811.02 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat around C$1.3583 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 0.525%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 16,123.48 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 6 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2 percent. Silvercorp Metals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 9.7 percent. Today, 138 of 221 shares rose, while 83 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.6 percent
* The index declined 2.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.2 on a trailing basis and 24.9 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$2.44t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 19.16 percent compared with 20.04 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.95 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 52.5377| 2.2| 47/3
Industrials | 24.3970| 1.3| 18/10
Utilities | 11.5831| 1.4| 13/3
Information Technology | 10.5184| 0.7| 7/3
Consumer Staples | 9.1494| 1.3| 9/2
Communication Services | 5.7883| 0.7| 5/3
Consumer Discretionary | 1.7226| 0.3| 6/7
Real Estate | 0.2301| 0.0| 13/14
Health Care | -0.9548| -0.6| 3/6
Financials | -4.0146| -0.1| 12/13
Energy | -11.9723| -0.6| 5/19
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as investors digested this week’s initial burst of corporate earnings, economic data and coronavirus news. The dollar weakened and crude oil declined. The S&P 500 withstood a late session swoon to register its third consecutive weekly gain for the first time since December. Trading volume was about 25% below the average over the prior 30 days. Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. helped the Nasdaq 100 avoid its first back-to-back daily decline since mid-May. A University of Michigan survey showed U.S. consumer sentiment slumped in July, missing all forecasts, after the resurgent coronavirus nearly wiped out any emerging optimism around reopenings. “This pandemic is still vexing everybody,” said Lori Heinel, deputy global chief investment officer at State Street Global Advisors. “Until we have a clearer path toward more effective treatments or a clearer path to vaccination, we should just expect that we’re going to continue to have volatility.” Investors were closely watching to see how the broader technology sector reacted to Netflix Corp.’s weaker than expected outlook. The Nasdaq Composite has managed to go two months without posting back-to-back declines, but that’s now under threat as investors question the resilience of tech’s searing rally. Netflix Puts a Record Run of Resilience at Risk in Nasdaq  “We’re going to continue to see a bifurcated economy, bifurcated market, unless we get rid of this virus and everything goes away for some reason,” said David Yepez, a money manager at Exencial Wealth Advisors. “If we find a vaccine and, you know, that will be the point where value will start to outperform.”
In Europe, traders are holding out hope for policy makers to conclude a stimulus pact. German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised doubts on Friday that European Union leaders would be able to agree this week on a landmark 750 billion-euro ($855 billion) recovery fund to help their economies heal from the pandemic. Positive earnings from Daimler AG and Ericsson AB pulled carmakers and tech stocks higher. Elsewhere, Chinese shares were steady after a more than 4% slide on Thursday, with investors assessing moves by policy makers to tame signs of exuberance.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.2% to 3,224.78 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 26,672.46.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.2% to 10,503.19.
The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.3% to 548.33.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.3% to 1,204.30.
The euro gained 0.5% to $1.1439, the strongest in more than four months.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 106.94 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries increased less than one basis point to 0.14%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.62%.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to -0.45%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.1% to $40.60 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 0.7% to $1,810.58 an ounce, the highest in almost nine years on the biggest advance in a week.
Copper increased 0.3% to $2.91 a pound.
–With assistance from Amena Saad.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

People living deeply have no fear of death.
                          -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:
On July 16, 1918, Russia’s Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks. Go to article »
July 16, 1940-Adolf Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion).

Scientists accidentally create nightmare-fuel fish. (h/t Alistair Lowe)-Bloomberg.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the “Wedding Crashers” football scene.-Bloomberg.

The future of meat is chicken. -Bloomberg.

BTW: The Eiffel Tower reopened its top floor with a message of hope to the world: “We still have places where people can have a good time.” Watch. –Bloomberg Quick Takes.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Jacobite Steam Train goes over the Glenfinnan viaduct. The first voyage for the Harry Potter train since Coronavirus lockdown has been eased in Scotland. This 84-mile round trip is described as one of the greatest railway journeys in the world.
CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A child runs away from a wave breaking on the seafront in Sevastopol, Crimea
CREDIT: REUTERS/ALEXEY PAVLISHAK

Local attraction names Sammy the Seal is seen on Preston beach in Weymouth, Britain
CREDIT: FINNBARR WEBSTER/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for July 16th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26734.71	-135.39
		-0.50%
S&P 500	3215.57	-10.99
		-0.34%
NASDAQ	10473.828	-76.664 -0.73%
TSX	16024.50	-38.83
		-0.24%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22770.36	-175.14
		-0.76%
HANG SENG	24970.69	-510.89
		-2.00%
SENSEX	36471.68	+419.87
		+1.16%
FTSE 100*	6250.69	-41.96 -0.67%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.505	0.535
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.996	1.040
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6168	0.6299
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3096	1.3321

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73686	0.74019
US $	1.35711	1.35100
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54442	0.64749
US $	1.13802	0.87872

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1804.60	1801.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	40.75	41.20

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1945, a device innocuously called “Gadget” was tested successfully near Alamogordo, N.M. It was the world’s first atomic bomb, and it detonated at 5:29:45 a.m., releasing 20 kilotons of energy and vaporizing its 100-foot steel support tower. The Nuclear Age had secretly begun.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell on Thursday, led by tech stocks. In the U.S., the technology-dominated Nasdaq-100 fell more than the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500.
The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.2% in Toronto. Technology’s underperformance was driven mainly by a 3% decline in Shopify Inc. after Citi started research coverage of the e-commerce platform with a neutral rating and said that current valuation leaves “little room for upside.”
Oil snapped its two-day rally amid a weaker demand outlook underscored by OPEC+ producers’ decision to taper production cuts and U.S. economic data that signaled a slowing recovery in the labor market.
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group agreed to back a purchase agreement from a group of its secured lenders, setting the minimum acceptable bid in its court-supervised sales process.
Canada’s active fund managers that were once seen as best among their peers have had trouble holding on to that status.
Very few of them have consistently outperformed regardless of their asset class or style focus, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. For stock pickers who were in the top quartile five years ago, none of them maintained that status annually through 2019, the firm said in its inaugural Canada Persistence Scorecard report.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $6.55 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,796.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.5% to C$1.3574 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell about 3 basis point to 0.505%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 16,024.50 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.1 percent. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.3 percent.
Today, 146 of 221 shares fell, while 70 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2 percent
* The index declined 2.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 43.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.44t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 20.04 percent compared with 20.05 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.03 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -37.1102| -2.3| 1/9
Materials | -23.2621| -1.0| 10/40
Energy | -6.3865| -0.3| 4/19
Real Estate | -3.9764| -0.8| 4/22
Health Care | -1.7160| -1.0| 3/5
Consumer Staples | 1.4057| 0.2| 6/4
Consumer Discretionary | 1.7852| 0.3| 5/8
Financials | 3.6290| 0.1| 9/15
Utilities | 3.8493| 0.5| 10/6
Communication Services | 11.1257| 1.3| 6/2
Industrials | 11.8059| 0.6| 12/16
US
By Vildana Hajric and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — Technology shares pushed U.S. stocks lower for the first time in three days after investors rotated out of this year’s top performers. Treasuries gained with American initial jobless claims posting their smallest weekly decline since March.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s 0.7% decline was among the largest of major U.S. benchmarks, with Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. leading the losses. The information technology was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, which had gained more than 2% in the past two days. Netflix Inc. slumped in late trading after the streaming service reported fewer subscriber additions than forecast. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 extended losses after the cash market close, with the contracts down 1.4% as of 4:12 p.m. in New York.
“Those valuations have gotten quite a bit ahead of the rest of the market,” said Matt Stucky, portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. “With earnings season, that could be the catalyst for a little bit of a pullback in tech. Expectations are moving higher and the companies need to deliver against those expectations.”
Trading volume in the S&P was almost 30% below the average of the prior 30 days. Earlier, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index tracked Asian shares lower as Chinese retail sales in June came in softer than expected, even as the economy returned to growth last quarter. The euro was little changed after the European Central Bank kept its emergency monetary stimulus program unchanged.
The economic data from the U.S. and China served as a reminder of the long road ahead to a full global recovery is quashing optimism seen earlier in the week spurred by progress in developing a coronavirus vaccine. While China is experiencing a modest domestic recovery, the world’s second-largest economy remains vulnerable to setbacks as shutdowns continue to hamper activity across the globe.
”There’s definitely a push-pull,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. “Certain sectors of the economy are going well and the question now is with this second spike that we’re seeing — and have already seen — and as some states start to tighten back up, while we don’t expect a full lockdown it certainly puts questions on just how quickly this recovery is going to occur.”
Elsewhere, oil retreated from a four-month high after the OPEC+ alliance confirmed it would start tapering output cuts from next month.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.3% to 3,215.58 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.4% to 26,734.57, the first retreat in a week.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6% to 10,473.83.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.6% to 545.82, the biggest fall in more than a week.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% to 1,207.48, the largest advance in more than a week.
*The euro decreased 0.3% to $1.1381, the first retreat in a week.
*The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 107.33 per dollar, the weakest in more than a week on the largest dip in three weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.15%, the lowest in two months on the biggest decrease in more than two weeks.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.62%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.47%, the lowest in more than two weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $40.73 a barrel.
*Gold depreciated 0.7% to $1,796.11 an ounce, the weakest in more than a week on the biggest dip in almost six weeks.
*Copper climbed 0.5% to $2.90 a pound.
–With assistance from Claire Ballentine and Amena Saad.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Chance fight ever on the side of the prudent.
                      -Euripides, c.485-406 BCE.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: St  Swithin’s Day, England.

July 15th is St Swithin’s Day, named for the ninth century Anglo Saxon bishop of Winchester.
According to traditional folklore, whatever the weather on St Swithin’s Day, it will continue for the next 40 days.
St Swithin was bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862. After his death he requested he be buried in the churchyard, so that passers by may step over his grave and that it may be exposed to the elements.
However, his tomb was moved inside on 15 July 971, and shortly afterwards a huge storm hit, which people took as a sign of the saint’s displeasure at his wishes being ignored.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says: “The first textual evidence for the weather prophecy appears to have come from a 13th or 14th century entry in a manuscript at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.”
Since then the legend has said that if it rains on St Swithin’s Day it will continue to do so for the next 40 days. But if it is sunny, the sun will shine for 40 days straight.  -Alex Finnist.

The pandemic has changed how we sleep. -Bloomberg.

How Athens accidentally struck on a brilliant apartment design. -Bloomberg.
Electric-car subsidies make Renaults free in Germany.

Nearly a month into the coronavirus lockdown, Kleon Papadimitriou, a Greek student in Aberdeen, Scotland, was feeling homesick and looking for a way home. With flights to much of Europe canceled, he hopped on his bike.
Two thousand miles and 48 days later, Mr. Papadimitriou, 20, finally arrived in Athens. Along the way, he got lost and suffered flats, bad weather and steep climbs. He made stops in Leeds, England; Stuttgart, Germany, where his grandmother lives; Italy, where he had a pepperoni pizza and beer in the Alps before heading to Venice; and then a port to the south for a ferry to Greece.
His parents met him in Patras, Greece, and the three of them cycled the final stretch to Athens together. –The New York Times.

July 15, 2010 – BP stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico after 85 days using a 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier in the week. Go to article »
Rembrandt, artist, b. 1616.
Linda Ronstadt, singer, b. 1946
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Comet Neowise over Stonehenge, Wiltshire. The comet which was discovered on 27 March 2020 by the Neowise space telescope, will make its closet approach to Earth on July 23, passing the planet at a distance of 103 million km-about 400 times further away than the moon. Comets are ‘cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun’, leftover from the formation of the solar system, according to Nasa. Their size can range from a few nukes wide to tens of miles wide – but as they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet. As these substances stream off the comet, they form a spectacular gas and dust cloud that tails behind them for millions of miles – and can often be seen from earth with the naked eye.
CREDIT: PETER GREIG/BAV MEDIA

Four young hungry swallows are perched on a bush with their beaks wide open as they eagerly await to be fed.
CREDIT: BRIAN DAVIES/ SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Rainfall water is seen at the center of a lotus leaf at Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo, Japan. The seasonal rain front is still generating rainfall across the country as heavy rain triggered landslides in western Japan.
CREDIT: FRANCK ROBICHON/ EPA – EFE/SHTTERSTOCK

People walk on the beach as the sun rises in Scharbeutz at the Balitic Sea, Germany.
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP
Market Closes for July 15th , 2020 

 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26870.10	+227.51
		+0.85%
S&P 500	3226.56	+29.04
		+0.91%
NASDAQ	10550.492	+61.915 +0.59%
TSX	16063.33	+154.88
		+0.97%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22945.50	+358.49
		+1.59%
HANG SENG	25481.58	+3.69
		+0.01%
SENSEX	36051.81	+18.75
		+0.05%
FTSE 100*	6292.65	+112.90 +1.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.535	0.536
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.040	1.047
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6299	0.6233
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3321	1.3090

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74019	0.73441
US $	1.35100	1.36164
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54161	0.64867
US $	1.14109	0.87636

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1801.90	1807.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.20	40.29

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1916, William Boeing, a Yale-educated aeronautical engineer, incorporated the Pacific Aero Products Co. in Seattle with $100,000 in capital; he kept 998 of the original 1,000 shares of stock for himself. In 1917 he renamed his firm the Boeing Airplane Co., which went on to make jet travel an accepted part of everyday life.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canada’s stock benchmark rallied for a second day, climbing over a milestone that hasn’t been seen since March as investor confidence burgeoned over the development progress of a vaccine for Covid-19 and after the Bank of Canada said interest rates will stay low for some time.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index surged about 1% in Toronto, putting it above the 16,000 mark, its highest level since March 6. Two major drug developers surged in the U.S. after promising trial results were reported on a potential vaccine for the coronavirus. Health care, real estate and consumer discretionary were among the best performing sectors while, tech and materials were among the worst.
Bank of Canada’s pledge to keep interest rates at historically low levels for years to come also gave Canadian stocks a boost Wednesday. The central bank also promised to keep the benchmark there until unemployment falls closer to levels seen before the virus outbreak and inflation returns sustainably to their 2% target. The Canadian dollar strengthened about 0.8% against the greenback, coming close to its pre-pandemic level. Mining companies may raise as much as $3 billion by selling a share of future output in so-called streaming deals, according to the head of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. The coronavirus outbreak has spurred volatility in metals prices, and the climate for streaming deals is improving as base-metals companies look to extract value from the precious-metals byproducts that are often found with copper, lead or zinc, Chief Executive Officer Randy Smallwood said in an interview.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $7.30 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,811.91 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.8% to C$1.3511 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield stayed flat around 0.538%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1 percent, or 154.88 to 16,063.33 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 6.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.5 percent. Air Canada had the largest increase, rising 13.8 percent.
Today, 184 of 221 shares rose, while 37 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index declined 2.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 43.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1 on a trailing basis and 24.9 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$2.42t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 20.05 percent compared with 20.14 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.06 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 60.0039| 1.3| 22/3
Industrials | 27.0741| 1.5| 26/2
Energy | 22.0008| 1.1| 22/2
Consumer Discretionary | 14.8325| 2.7| 12/1
Real Estate | 14.7721| 3.0| 27/0
Communication Services | 10.4486| 1.2| 8/0
Utilities | 8.9547| 1.1| 13/3
Health Care | 8.6685| 5.3| 9/0
Consumer Staples | 4.7270| 0.7| 10/1
Materials | -0.7601| 0.0| 27/23
Information Technology | -15.8442| -1.0| 8/2
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Amena Saad
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed to a more than a one- month high amid optimism about progress in developing a vaccine for coronavirus. The dollar weakened and crude oil increased.
The S&P 500 gained 0.9%, briefly drifting back into positive territory for the year. Varying reports on trade tensions between the U.S. and China buffeted shares. The tech- heavy Nasdaq 100 swung between gains and losses all day before closing in the green as some investors rotated into value shares. The Federal Reserve said the economy showed signs of a nascent recovery at the beginning of July.
“The virus vaccine is inspiring more bullish emotions,” said Michael Zigmont, Head of Trading & Research at Harvest Volatility Management LLC. “Forget valuations, forget earnings, forget economic news.” Moderna Inc. surged to a record after the drugmaker reported promising trial results. AstraZeneca Plc rose on optimism about its vaccine efforts. The vaccine developments brought a rush of optimism to financial markets that have struggled to make headway recently in the face of new outbreaks across the U.S. and Asia.
“These are obviously some very encouraging developments, particularly on the Covid front,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital Corp. “This has allowed markets to continue thriving even despite rising cases throughout the U.S and has helped to counter ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.” President Donald Trump has indicated to aides that he doesn’t want to further escalate tensions with Beijing, and has ruled out additional sanctions on top officials for now, according to people familiar with the matter. China reportedly summoned the U.S. ambassador regarding the Hong Kong Autonomy act signed Tuesday by Trump.
Elsewhere in markets, oil gained after a report pointed to a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. Atlantia SpA surged 25% as Italy’s government moved to resolve a long-running dispute linked to a 2018 bridge collapse.
In Asia, shares in Hong Kong underperformed, while those in Shanghai fell amid signs policy makers are uneasy over the pace of recent gains.
Here are some key events coming up:
* China releases second-quarter GDP on Thursday as well as key economic indicators for June.
* The European Central Bank meets to set monetary policy on Thursday, with President Christine Lagarde holding a virtual press conference afterward.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index gained 0.9% to 3,226.56 as of 4:05 p.m. New York time, the highest in more than five weeks.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.9% to 26,870.10, the highest in five weeks.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% to 10,550.49.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 1.1% to 549.55, the highest in more than 20 weeks on the biggest rise in more than a week.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4% to 1,203.39, the lowest in five weeks on the largest fall in a week.
*The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1408, the strongest in more than four months.
*The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 106.93 per dollar, the strongest in more than three weeks on the largest climb in two weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries declined less than one basis point to 0.15%.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 0.63%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to -0.44%.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.8% to $41.03 a barrel, the highest in almost 19 weeks.
*Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,812.20 an ounce, the highest in almost nine years.
*Copper dipped 1.4% to $2.89 a pound, the largest dip in almost five weeks.

–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

No man becomes wise by chance. –Aesop, 620-564 BCE.

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

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

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

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Bastille Day, France.

These stunning aerial photos of Vermont evoke transcendence and tranquillity.  -The NY Times.

A giant “wall” of galaxies has been found hiding behind the Milky Way. –Bloomberg.

Go to the moon — no, not that one. Did you know American astronauts trained in Idaho for their 1969 moon missions? A free online tour of the weird location is among our Weekly Wonder suggestions for kids and families. –The Seattle Times.

On July 14, 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the planet. Go to article »

Ingmar Bergman, director, b. 1918.
Woody Guthrie, singer, b. 1912.
Gerald Ford, 38^th president, b. 1913
1933- All non-Nazi parties are banned in Germany.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A puffin stuffs its beak full of fish and flies back to land. The bird can be seen transporting the freshly caught sand eel back from sea in Scotland. It managed to carry five fish back to breeding colonies at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain, to feed young puffins.
CREDIT: IAM HEARD/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A hare appears to break into a grin as it sniffs some long grass. The “smiling” brown hare was spotted in a field in Tysoe, Warwickshire by Events Manager Richard Ellis. Richard said, “ These guys really love fresh grass, she may have picked up the scent of other hares. While she smelt the grass it looked like it seems to make her smile. It almost felt like she was posing for me as she certainly knew I was there, I was only about eight feet away.”
CREDIT: RICHARD ELLIS/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Deer are silhouetted as the sun rises near the village of Beeley in the Derbyshire Peak District.
CREDIT: VILLAGER JIM LTD/MERCURY PRESS
Market Closes for July 14th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26642.59	+556.79
		+2.13%
S&P 500	3197.52	+42.30
		+1.34%
NASDAQ	10488.578	+97.734 +0.94%
TSX	15908.45	+269.04
		+1.72%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22587.01	-197.73
		-0.87%
HANG SENG	25477.89	-294.23
		-1.14%
SENSEX	36033.06	-660.63
		-1.80%
FTSE 100*	6179.75	+3.56 +0.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.536	0.540
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.047	1.064
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6233	0.6184
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3090	1.3109

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73441	0.73496
US $	1.36164	1.36062
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55165	0.64447
US $	1.13955	0.87754

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1807.50	1803.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	40.29	40.10

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1784, in the earliest known advertisement by an American broker, Joshua Eaton of Boston announced in the Massachusetts Centinel: “Public Securities of every denomination Negotiated: Business on Commission, transacted with attention and punctuality, and every favor gratefully acknowledged.”
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canada shares climbed on Tuesday, led by energy stocks as oil prices rebounded.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1.7% in Toronto. Energy, materials and industrials were among the best-performing stocks, while real estate was the only group the negative.
Crude futures rose as initial signs that OPEC members intend to comply with promises to curtail production eclipsed fears that a resurgence in coronavirus cases would send demand back to the worst days of the pandemic.
Shopify Inc. garnered a new top bull, with National Bank Financial boosting their price target to a Street-high of $1,250. National Bank is opting for a longer-term view on
Canadian tech stock valuations, despite short-term questions about where shares are trading.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $6.80 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,810.20 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.3614 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell slightly to 0.537%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.7 percent at 15,908.45 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 2.1 percent on June 5 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5 percent.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.3 percent. Seven Generations Energy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 7.9 percent.
Today, 157 of 221 shares rose, while 64 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 18 times. The next day, it declined 11 times for an average 3.6 percent and advanced seven times for an average 1.7 percent
* The index declined 3.5 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 42.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.9 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.38t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 20.14 percent compared with 19.74 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.06 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 72.0049| 3.8| 24/0
Materials | 70.1301| 3.0| 44/6
Financials | 52.1709| 1.2| 19/6
Industrials | 33.7358| 1.9| 19/9
Utilities | 14.6424| 1.8| 15/1
Consumer Discretionary | 8.5308| 1.6| 8/5
Consumer Staples | 7.8792| 1.2| 10/1
Communication Services | 7.1628| 0.9| 6/2
Information Technology | 6.4306| 0.4| 5/5
Health Care | 0.1874| 0.1| 5/4
Real Estate | -3.8346| -0.8| 2/25
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks posted their biggest gain in more than a week amid a late session surge, led by rallies in the energy, materials and industrial sectors. The dollar weakened to an almost five-week low and Treasuries were little changed.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.3% after swinging all day between gains and losses as investors weighed earnings season and the economic hit of rising virus cases. Megacap technology shares were initially headed for the first two-day slide since mid-May, with the Nasdaq 100 falling as much as 2%, before rallying late in the session. Banks were mixed after JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported strong trading results, while Wells Fargo & Co. tumbled after cutting its dividend and reporting its first quarterly loss since 2008.
“We may see this earnings season as one where companies speak honestly and send a slightly different message than, we’re never going to look back from the bottom,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co. “I think it’s appropriate that companies are honest even if it’s deemed as throwing cold water on the v-shaped narrative.”
Volatility remained high. U.S. stocks finished in the red yesterday after the S&P 500 briefly touching the highest level since the coronavirus pandemic. Equities have largely treaded water over the past month as worries about new virus cases are offset by optimism over stimulus spending and the economic recovery.
Still as new outbreaks appear around the world, officials are putting stricter measures in place to control the spread.
Japan said a new state of emergency is possible and Hong Kong implemented its toughest social distancing measures yet. Florida reported a record number of coronavirus deaths among residents, while Arizona had the most new cases in 11 days.
”It’s this tug-of-war between the forward-looking assumption around a vaccine and treatment versus what is happening today as it relates to cases, the mortality rate and, more broadly, the spread,” said Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management.
The U.K.’s two-year bonds yielded less than Japanese debt for the first time. Copper ended a six-day winning streak amid renewed tensions between Beijing and Washington.
In Asia, equities were broadly lower with Chinese and Hong Kong shares faring the worst. The Trump administration rejected China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, reversing a previous policy of not taking sides in such disputes.
U.S. Denounces China’s Claims to South China Sea as unlawful.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* China releases second-quarter GDP on Thursday as well as key economic indicators for June.
* The European Central Bank meets to set monetary policy on Thursday, with President Christine Lagarde holding a virtual press conference afterward.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index advanced 1.3% to 3,197.52 as of 4:05 p.m. New York time, the highest in five weeks on the largest gain in more than a week.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.1% to 26,642.59, the highest in almost five weeks on the biggest increase in more than two weeks.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.9% to 10,488.58.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.5% to 543.54, the highest in five weeks.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% to 1,207.67, the lowest in almost five weeks.
*The euro gained 0.4% to $1.1391, the strongest in more than four months.
*The Japanese yen was little changed at 107.28 per dollar.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 0.16%, the biggest climb in almost two weeks.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed less than one basis point to 0.62%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to -0.45%, the biggest drop in more than a week.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.4% to $40.27 a barrel.
*Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,810.03 an ounce, the highest in almost nine years.
*Copper sank 0.6% to $2.94 a pound, the first retreat in almost three weeks and the largest decrease in more than four weeks.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

All we really want in the end is to be connected once again
with the Truth of our being, to realize what it is that wears this mask of self.
                                                                        -Adyashanti, b. 1962

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