Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends, 
 
Tangents:
On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth as he flew aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule. Go to article »

             RISKS
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
                                                           ― Leo F. Buscaglia

Samsung’s Z Flip tempts iPhone users. But will they switch? –Bloomberg.

Woman plays violin during brain surgery to preserve the skill. (h/t Scott Kominers) –Bloomberg.
 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A herd of red deer snakes over a snowy mountain in Glenshee, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.
CREDIT: EUAN CHERRY

Josh Scott, 13, gets some air on his scooter at the Malmesbury Skate Festival.

The annual event sees the inside of Malmesbury’s 12^th Centruy former Benedictine Abbey being turned into a skate park for the week during school half term.
CREDIT: STEPHEN SHEPHERD/LNP
 
Market Closes for February 20^th , 2020 
 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29219.98	-128.05
		-0.44%
S&P 500	3373.23	-12.92
		-0.38%
NASDAQ	9750.965	-66.215   -0.67%
TSX	17944.06	+18.70
		+0.10%

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23479.15	+78.45
		+0.34%
HANG SENG	27609.16	-46.65
		-0.17%
SENSEX	41170.12	-152.88
		-0.37%
FTSE 100*	7436.64	-20.38   -0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.308	1.359
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.423	1.470
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5152	1.5661
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.9606	2.0139

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75411	0.75616
US $	1.32606	1.32247
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43029	0.69916
US $	1.07860	0.92713

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1604.20	1589.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	53.78	53.29

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1852, a locomotive of the Michigan Southern railroad puffed into Chicago, connecting the breadbasket of the world directly with the Eastern U.S. for the first time. Instead of more than two weeks by horse, coach and canal boat, it would take just two days by rail to travel from New York City to Chicago. Goods, money and people were able to flow between the two booming cities faster than anyone had ever imagined.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.1 percent, or 18.7 to 17,944.06 in Toronto. Nutrien Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.3 percent. Northview Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust had the largest increase, rising 12.8 percent. Today, 124 of 231 shares rose, while 101 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.6 percent
* The index advanced 12 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 12.9 percent above its low on March 8, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.73t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.48 percent compared with 6.53 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.51 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 21.9005| 0.4| 18/6
Real Estate | 5.2804| 0.8| 20/5
Energy | 4.9919| 0.2| 21/9
Consumer Discretionary | 2.4558| 0.3| 9/7
Materials | 2.0616| 0.1| 20/26
Industrials | 1.3514| 0.1| 12/18
Utilities | 0.5841| 0.1| 10/6
Health Care | 0.2720| 0.1| 5/5
Consumer Staples | -1.8906| -0.3| 4/6
Information Technology | -7.6201| -0.7| 4/6
Communication Services | -10.6949| -1.1| 1/7

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities slumped on concern that the coronavirus that originated in China will take a heavy toll on corporate earnings. The dollar jumped and gold climbed to a seven-year high as investors sought havens. Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc. and other big tech names led losses after Japan reported two deaths and South Korea confirmed its first fatality from the disease amid a report the illness was spreading in Beijing. ViacomCBS Inc. tumbled after sales missed estimates, while Morgan Stanley dropped after agreeing to buy E*Trade Financial Corp. for $13 billion. The S&P 500 Index pared the worst of its decline in the afternoon amid gains for automakers and real-estate companies. The yen extended its fall toward 112 per dollar amid disappointing economic news and early positioning before the fiscal year-end next month. Treasuries rallied. Sentiment turned negative Thursday, a day after equities reached record highs, as the infection that originated in China continues to expand beyond the mainland.
     Earnings misses are adding to the gloom, alongside fresh warnings on the pathogen’s impact from A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container shipping firm, and Air France-KLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chief equity strategist said a near-term correction for the stock market is looking more probable. “It could be some larger players hedging against downside risk of the coronavirus spreading,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. “That, on top of the Goldman call that a correction is more likely, has people on edge.” Elsewhere, subpar results from AXA SA and Telefonica SA
weighed on European equity gauges. Asia stocks traded mixed. Oil gained in New York.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season rolls on, with results from Deere & Co. set for Friday.
* Euro-area PMI and inflation data are also due Friday.
* Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are due to meet Feb. 22-23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and are expected to discuss efforts to support growth amid the coronavirus threat.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.5%.
* The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.0787.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.6% to 112.08 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank five basis points to 1.52%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.45%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 0.57%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.9% to $53.78 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.5% to $1,619.80 an ounce.

–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Adam Haigh, Todd White and Yakob Peterseil.

Have a great night.
 
Be magnificent!
As ever,
 
Carolann
 
Don’t fritter away your time.  Create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody.
                                                      -Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919
 
 
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 Feb. 19, 1945, during World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where they encountered ferocious resistance from Japanese forces. The Americans
took control of the strategically important island after a month-long battle.  Go to article »

February 19, 1821, Lord Byron, Ravenna Journal:

Come home solus -very high wind – lightning – moonshine – solitary stragglers muffled in cloaks – women in mask – white houses – clouds hurrying over the sky, like spilt milk blown out of the pail – altogether very poetical.  It is still blowing hard – the tiles are flying, and the house rocking – rain splashing – lightning flashing – quite a fine Swiss Alpine evening, and the sea roaring in the distance.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People walk by a poster by Italian urban artist Salvatore Benintende aka “TVBOY” depicting Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa wearing a protective facemask and holding a mobile phone reading “Mobile World Virus” in a street of Barcelona.
CREDIT: PAU BARRENA/AFP

These incredible photos show the latest stunt from the world famous acrobatic team the Dunking Devils, as they perform spine tingling trampoline manoeuvres in a Slovenian Railways container transport terminal.
CREDIT: DOMEN ROZMAN/SWNS.COM

The humanoid robot Sophia, developed by Hong Kong based company Hanson Robotics, appears in stage in front of students and other professionals during a meeting session organised about artificial intelligence in Kolkata.
CREDIT: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP

Market Closes for February 19^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29348.03	+115.84
		+0.40%
S&P 500	3386.15	+15.86
		+0.47%
NASDAQ	9817.180	+84.437 +0.87%
TSX	17925.36	+67.02
		+0.38%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23400.70	+206.90
		+0.89%
HANG SENG	27655.81	+125.61
		+0.46%
SENSEX	41323.00	+428.62
		+1.05%
FTSE 100*	7457.02	+75.01 +1.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.359	1.330
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.470	1.453
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5661	1.5593
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0139	2.0083

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75616	0.75423
US $	1.32247	1.32586
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42940	0.69959
US $	1.08086	0.92519

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1589.85	1580.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	53.29	52.05

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for his “tin-foil talking phonograph,” ancestor of the modern record player and the first device to make sound recording practical.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares advanced as energy and mining stocks led the rally, while health care fell. The S&P/TSX Composite rose for a third day, climbing 0.4% to 17,925.36 in Toronto to close at its fifth record in six days.
* Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain measured in points, advancing 3.3%.
* Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest percentage increase, rising 13%.

Meanwhile, consumer price inflation in Canada ticked up in January, while the average of the central bank’s core measures slowed down. The overall consumer price index was up 2.4% from a year earlier, after a 2.2% gain in December. That beat economist expectations for a 2.3% increase. Excluding gasoline, inflation rose 2% in January. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.3%.
Insights
* The index advanced 12 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 19, 2020 and 13.2 percent above its low on Feb. 19, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.74t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 6.53 percent compared with 6.50 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.46 percent over the past month
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate prices
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,611.53 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3224 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 2.3 basis points to 1.36%
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 38.0414| 1.3| 25/5
Materials | 21.3479| 1.1| 35/12
Financials | 9.1231| 0.2| 9/17
Consumer Discretionary | 2.8194| 0.4| 8/7
Information Technology | 2.3792| 0.2| 2/8
Utilities | 1.4150| 0.2| 8/8
Industrials | 1.3798| 0.1| 17/12
Consumer Staples | -0.0618| 0.0| 3/8
Real Estate | -2.0612| -0.3| 4/20
Communication Services | -2.2833| -0.2| 4/4
Health Care | -5.0815| -2.4| 2/6

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Equities advanced on signs that China may be planning further measures to support its economy as it reels from a virus-induced slowdown and after Federal Reserve officials signaled they aren’t anxious to raise interest rates anytime soon. Gains for chipmakers and banks led the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite to record highs after Bloomberg News reported that China’s latest moves to aid growth include possible bailouts for hard-hit industries. The dollar climbed to the strongest since October after data on housing starts and building permits exceeded analysts’ estimates. Treasuries held steady after minutes showed Federal Reserve officials viewed monetary policy as appropriate “for a time.” The Stoxx Europe 600 Index reached new highs, and shares rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney. The yen fell to a nine- month low on concern Japan’s economy may slip into a recession.
     Oil gained as U.S. sanctions on Russia’s largest producer and conflict in Libya put the focus on supply threats. Investors appear relatively confident in the ability of policy makers to contain fallout from the deadly coronavirus, even after Apple Inc. spooked markets earlier this week by warning of a slowdown in sales. Data released Wednesday showed the housing market remains a bright spot for the U.S. economy amid sluggish business investment. “Housing is an economic bellwether and seeing data like this gives investors a lot of reasons to be optimistic, at least for the U.S. market,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E* Trade Financial. Elsewhere, gold traded near its highest level since 2013, while palladium extended its record-breaking rally on forecasts for a widening supply deficit.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season rolls on, with results from Deere & Co. set for Friday.
* Indonesia is expected to cut interest rates on Thursday, following emerging-market peers that have already moved.
* Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are scheduled to meet Feb. 22-23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and are expected to discuss efforts to support growth amid the coronavirus threat.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.5% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.8%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0808.
* The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.2924.
* The Japanese yen weakened 1.3% to 111.28 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.56%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.42%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.6%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.05%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 2.4% to $53.28 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,611.87 an ounce.
–With assistance from Christopher Anstey, Cormac Mullen, Sid Verma, Adam Haigh, Yakob Peterseil and Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.
                                                                            -Francis Bacon, 1561-1626

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:

1930 – Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. Go to article »

Yoko Ono turns 87 years young today.

At Least
By Ha Jin

You don’t need to appear everywhere,
attending parties and conferences randomly.
That would show you are still
diffident about your art
and would also debase you.

People who see you in person
might think you’re too common,
your achievement due to luck
like a blind cat that stumbles on a dead mouse.

Your frequent appearance
would dishearten others
because you exist far away,
at the end of their imagination —
you should be watched but not reached.

Look, this skyful of stars,
which one of them
doesn’t shine or die alone?
Their light also comes
from a deep indifference.

Ha Jin has published novels, poetry, stories and essays and has won a National Book Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award and two PEN/Faulkner Awards for his fiction. He teaches at Boston University. “A Distant Center” [Collection of Poems] was published in 2018 by Copper Canyon Press. -from The New York Times, February 16, 2020.

PHOTOS  OF THE DAY

Cyborg grasshoppers have been engineered to sniff out explosives. The team at Washington University in St. Louis, US fitted grasshoppers with tiny, lightweight sensor backpacks that were able to record and wirelessly transmit the electrical activity of their antennal lobes almost instantaneously to a computer.
CREDIT: BARANIDHARAN RAMAN/WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

English Heritage Collections Curator Dr Olivia Fryman gives a recently donated 1930s gold telephone a final brush up before it goes on public display for the first time at Eltham Palace in London. A rare golden telephone which survived World War Two bombings raids is returning to its Art Deco mansion home at Eltham Palace after being rescued from a skip.
CREDIT: JIM HOLDEN

A walker battles with his umbrella in the wind as water cascades down the dam wall of Wet Sleddale reservoir near Shap in Cumbria, UK, this morning after days of heavy rain from Storm Dennis.
CREDIT: ANDREW MCCAREN/LNP

Market Closes for February 18^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29232.19	-165.89
		-0.56%
S&P 500	3370.29	-9.87
		-0.29%
NASDAQ	9732.742	+1.566 +0.02%
TSX	17858.34	+9.98
		+0.06%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23193.80	-329.44
		-1.40%
HANG SENG	27530.20	-429.40
		-1.54%
SENSEX	40894.38	-161.31
		-0.39%
FTSE 100*	7382.01	-51.24 -0.69%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.330	1.365
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.453	1.490
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5593	1.5866
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0083	2.0377

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75423	0.75444
US $	1.32586	1.32549
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43082	0.69890
US $	1.07916	0.92664

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1580.80	1575.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	52.05	52.05

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1700, Daniel Bernoulli, one of the giants of probability theory and the father of modern risk analysis, was born in Basel, Switzerland.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 17,858.34 in Toronto. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.6 percent. Eldorado Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 10.5 percent. Today, 111 of 232 shares rose, while 117 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 13 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 12, 2020 and 13.3 percent above its low on Feb. 15, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18 on a trailing basis and 16 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.50 percent compared with 6.53 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.41 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 39.3531| 2.1| 29/17
Communication Services | 9.5503| 1.0| 5/3
Utilities | 6.3018| 0.7| 12/3
Real Estate | 3.6688| 0.6| 20/5
Information Technology | 0.4791| 0.0| 2/8
Health Care | 0.2521| 0.1| 4/6
Consumer Staples | -0.7238| -0.1| 4/6
Consumer Discretionary | -6.1494| -0.9| 8/9
Energy | -8.5997| -0.3| 9/21
Industrials | -14.8020| -0.7| 8/22
Financials | -19.3544| -0.3| 10/17

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 3.6 basis points to 1.329 percent

US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks slumped after Apple Inc.’s warning that sales will miss forecasts spooked investors who had hoped for a limited economic impact from the deadly coronavirus that originated in China. Treasuries rose and the dollar strengthened. The S&P 500 Index fell from a record as the iPhone maker warned of production and demand disruptions due to the epidemic, while gains for Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. provided a slight lift to the Nasdaq 100. Apple suppliers including Dialog Semiconductor Plc and AMS AG helped drag down European stocks. HSBC Plc tumbled the most since 2009 after it said it will slash jobs in a restructuring, while also flagging risks from the virus. Government bonds climbed, while the euro weakened after a German investor-confidence index plunged. Gold rallied. Investors are still trying to judge the corporate and economic impact from the coronavirus, even as the growth rate of cases in China’s Hubei province — the epicenter of the disease — continues to stabilize.
It’s a turnaround from Monday, when sentiment was lifted by Chinese policy makers’ moves to support companies hit by the prolonged shutdown of large parts of the country. BHP Group said commodity prices will take a hit if the fallout extends beyond the end of next month.“The market has largely ignored what’s going on with the coronavirus in terms of what impact it might have, but I’m not sure that’s entirely appropriate,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust. “It’s likely to be temporary and the economy may bounce back, but this is different than what we saw with SARS. China is a much larger more entwined piece of the global economy.” Elsewhere, equity benchmarks in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong saw declines of over 1%. The Australian dollar weakened after the Reserve Bank of Australia said it reviewed the case for a further rate cut at its last meeting, but didn’t go ahead. Emerging-market stocks and currencies fell.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season rolls on, with results from Deere & Co. set for Friday.
* Minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting are published on Wednesday.
* Indonesia is expected to cut interest rates on Thursday, following emerging-market peers that have already moved.
* Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are scheduled to meet Feb. 22-23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and are expected to discuss efforts to support growth amid the coronavirus threat.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined 0.3% at the close of trading in New York; the Nasdaq 100 added 0.1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index decreased 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2%.
* The euro decreased 0.4% to $1.0794.
* The British pound slipped 0.1% to $1.3.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.86 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.55%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.41%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.61%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $52.05 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.4% to $1,602.96 an ounce.

–With assistance from Benjamin Dow, Andreea Papuc, Joanna Ossinger and Robert Brand.
Have a great night!

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

We tend to get what we expect.
                                   -Norman Vincent Peale, 1898-1993

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!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Valentine’s derives its significance for lovers from its association with the mating season of birds.  Chaucer refers to this in his Parliament of Fowls, c.1381:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
For euery bryd comyth there to chese his make [match].

And Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, IV, I (1595) has:

Good morrow, friends, Saint Valentine is past;
Begin these wood-birds but to couple now?

Shakespeare wrote one  of the most beautiful love poems, a personal favorite of mine, with:

Sonnet CXVI
         -by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

St. Valentine was a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians.  He became a convert and, although he is supposed to have restored the sight of the gaoler’s blind daughter, he was clubbed to death, c.270.

His day is February 14^th, as is that of St. Valentine, bishop of Terni, who was martyred a few years later.  There are several other saints of this name.

The ancient custom of choosing Valentines has only accidental relation to either saint, being essentially a relic of the old Roman Lupercalia, or as already mentioned, from association with the mating season of birds.  It was marked by giving presents and nowadays by the sending of a card on which Cupids, transfixed hearts or similar amorous attributes are depicted.

-from CNN:
Here are ten of the most romantic paintings
Take your Valentine on a little virtual art tour!
 
On Feb. 14, 1929, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone’s gang were gunned down. Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A new work of art on the side of a house on Marsh Lane, Barton Hill, Bristol, is thought to be by street artist Banksy.

The black and white stencil of a girl with a catapult and the paint splat, made of roses and plastic flowers, is in the style of Banksy, but has yet to be confirmed as being the work of the artist.
CREDIT: BEN BIRCHALL/PA WIRE

Snow covered Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe following several days of heavy snow which began with Storm Ciara. Further winter weather looks set to continue over the weekend when Scotland is expected to bear the brunt of Storm Dennis.
CREDIT: LESLEY MARTITN

Boats are reflected in the calm of Ullswater lake in Glenridding, Cumbria as the UK braces for more bad weather over the weekend.
CREDIT: ANDREW MCCAREN/LNP

Market Closes for February 14^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29398.08	-25.23
		-0.09%
S&P 500	3380.16	+6.22
		+0.18%
NASDAQ	9731.176	+19.208 +0.20%
TSX	17848.36	+27.19
		+0.15%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23687.59	-140.14
		-0.59%
HANG SENG	27815.60	+85.60
		+0.31%
SENSEX	41257.74	-202.05
		-0.49%
FTSE 100*	7409.13	-42.90 -0.58%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.365	1.394
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.490	1.513
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5866	1.6156
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0377	2.0686

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75444	0.75375
US $	1.32549	1.32669
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43585	0.69645
US $	1.08326	0.92314

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1575.05	1563.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	52.05	51.42

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1932, Governor William Comstock of Michigan, in a stunning weekend announcement, said he was shutting down every bank in the state to avert loan defaults and public panic. Henry Ford, who had already sunk more than $13 million of his own money into Detroit’s leading banks to keep them solvent, had refused to put up any more, and federal authorities refused to bail out the Detroit banks unless Mr. Ford agreed to “subordinate” his deposits by surrendering his rights to early withdrawal. The stalemate left Gov. Comstock no choice but to shut the banks down. Over the next five weeks, every other state in the union closed its banks too.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci and Bloomberg Automation
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities closed at a record high Friday, led by strong gains in the health care sector after earnings from Canopy Growth Corp. Oil rallied for a fourth day on signs the worst economic impacts of the deadly coronavirus outbreak have been accounted for, easing concern about free-falling demand for crude. The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2% at 17,848.36 in Toronto. Six of eleven sectors gained. The index climbed 1.1% for the week. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said he’s “deeply concerned” about the impact of nationwide protests that are crippling the country’s railways, but said the government is intent on resolving the situation by engaging with First Nations.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17 discount toWest Texas Intermediate prices
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,583 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.3250 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3 basis point to 1.365%
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.1%
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1% below its 52-week high on Feb. 12

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 20.0805| 0.3| 13/14
Energy | 10.4079| 0.4| 14/15
Health Care | 10.1594| 5.0| 9/1
Utilities | 7.2346| 0.8| 15/0
Real Estate | 3.8719| 0.6| 21/4
Consumer Staples | 1.8425| 0.3| 6/5
Consumer Discretionary | -1.1584| -0.2| 6/9
Industrials | -2.3506| -0.1| 15/16
Communication Services | -2.7442| -0.3| 2/6
Information Technology | -5.2336| -0.5| 3/7
Materials | -14.9443| -0.8| 15/31

US
By Elena Popina and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Nothing has been able to stop the streak of records in U.S. stocks. During a week when the coronavirus threatened to become a pandemic that thwarts global growth, the S&P 500 Index advanced four out of five days, posting three records along the way. Investors found comfort in solid economic data, better-than-expected earnings reports and a signal that the Federal Reserve stands ready to act if needed. The benchmark for American equities jumped 1.6% in the week, ending at an all-time high. All 11 groups advanced, led by companies that pay high dividends as bond yields remained persistently low. Nvidia Inc. had its best week since 2017 after fourth-quarter results beat expectations. U.S. markets are closed Monday for a holiday. While uncertainty about the deadly virus that’s put China’s economy in a halt remained high, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is monitoring the fallout from the pandemic. Adding to investor optimism data showing retail sales strengthened for a fourth consecutive month, putting consumers on track to support further economic growth.
“What we’re seeing here with the new highs in the market is optimism that coronavirus will not hit global GDP perhaps as much as initially expected,” said Jeff Zipper managing director at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, which has about $181 billion in assets under management. “Then you have earnings coming in better-than-expected. And then you have a Fed on the  sidelines which has helped the market.” Economic data Friday showed retail sales rose in January for a fourth straight month as cheaper prices at the gas pump encouraged Americans to spend on other goods, underscoring steady consumer spending. Next week, Walmart Inc. is set to give investors an insight into the state of the consumer. Machinery giant Deere & Co. is also set to issue an update on its quarterly results. Oil rose above $52 a barrel in New York, and the dollar kept close to its level versus a basket of peers. Gold gained and the yen held steady. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed lower Friday but was also up for the week. The euro steadied near a 2017 low after data showed the region’s economy grew a scant 0.1% in the fourth quarter, matching forecasts. Major Asian equity markets climbed except for those in Tokyo and Mumbai.
“As virus concerns continue to linger, and presumably will be a focal point in the near future, U.S. retail health is largely immune from the virus, so we likely won’t see any impacton this data, especially this early,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial. “What’s really important for investors to remember is that fundamentals are strong and our economy still continues to grow – debunking expectations of 2020 stagnation, at least for now.” While Beijing reported a smaller increase in virus cases in the epicenter of Hubei versus the previous day, they were still more than before counting methodology was changed. That’s clouded the picture of the outbreak in a week that’s seen Chinese airlines put workers on leave and firms such as drug maker AstraZeneca Plc warn of a tougher outlook because of the disease. Nonetheless, investors anticipate a possible V-shaped economic recovery from the virus, even as the effects continue to be felt. Nearly 86,000 domestic and international flights in and out of China were canceled from Jan. 23 to Feb. 11. That’s 34% of scheduled services. Hubei reported almost 5,000 new cases, a day after confirming nearly 15,000. The death toll in China was at 1,380, lower by more than 100 to account for some double-counting. The World Health Organization has said the surge in diagnoses didn’t necessarily indicate a spike in infections.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index gained 0.2% to 3,380.16 as of 4 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.1% to 430.52.
*The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.1% to 170.41.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index was little changed at 1,105.94.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,206.92.
*The euro was little changed at $1.0838, the weakest in almost three years.
*The British pound was little changed at $1.3048, hitting the strongest in almost two weeks with its fifth consecutive advance.
*The offshore yuan weakened 0.1% to 6.9926 per dollar.
*The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.78 per dollar.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.59%.
*The yield on two-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.43%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to -0.40%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.628%, the largest fall in a week.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.3% to $52.06 a barrel, the highest in two weeks.
*Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,582.74 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
*LME copper climbed 0.5% to $5,790 per metric ton, the highest in almost three weeks.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Of all forms of  caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.
                                                                         -Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970
                                                                    The Conquest of Happiness, 1930

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:
1741- First magazine published in the US.
1945- Dresden firebombing.

1997 – The Dow Jones industrial average broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, closing at 7,022.44.  Go to article »  It has increased +320.33% since then!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunset over a hard coral garden, part of the Gordan Reef in the Strait of Tiran, Northern Red Sea, Egypt.
CREDIT: TOBIAS FRIEDRICH/WWW.BELOW-SURFACE.COM

An Indigenous child looks on during a demonstration against the government of Brazil’s President Bolsonaro in front of the National Congress in Brasilia.
CREDIT: ADRIANO MACHADO/REUTERS

Severe blizzard conditions over Mam Tor at sunrise in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.
CREDIT: JOHN FINNEY/WENN

A Komodor named Addie takes part in the Working group competition at the 2020 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
CREDIT: CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS

Market Closes for February 13^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29423.31	-128.11
		-0.43%
S&P 500	3373.94	-5.51
		-0.16%
NASDAQ	9711.969	-13.993 -0.14%
TSX	17821.17	-11.68
		-0.07%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23827.73	-33.48
		-0.14%
HANG SENG	27730.00	-93.66
		-0.34%
SENSEX	41459.79	-106.11
		-0.26%
FTSE 100*	7452.03	-82.34 -1.09%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.394	1.389
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.513	1.508
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6156	1.6264
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0686	2.0835

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75375	0.75459
US $	1.32669	1.32522
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43850	0.69517
US $	1.08427	0.92228

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1563.70	1570.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.42	51.17

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1990, junk-bond giant Drexel Burnham Lambert sought bankruptcy protection, only days after Chief Executive Fred Joseph told The Wall Street Journal, “I see daylight. The worst is behind us.”
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 17,821.17 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.4 percent. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.0 percent. Today, 105 of 232 shares fell, while 121 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.9 percent
* The index advanced 14 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 12, 2020 and 14.2 percent above its low on Feb. 14, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.54 percent compared with 6.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.17 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -26.5075| -0.9| 10/18
Communication Services | -7.2591| -0.7| 1/6
Health Care | -2.8312| -1.4| 5/5
Consumer Discretionary | -2.1058| -0.3| 9/8
Consumer Staples | 0.2697| 0.0| 10/1
Information Technology | 1.4098| 0.1| 5/5
Industrials | 2.7212| 0.1| 16/15
Financials | 2.9196| 0.1| 7/19
Real Estate | 3.5387| 0.6| 21/4
Utilities | 4.1592| 0.5| 11/5
Materials | 12.0069| 0.6| 26/19

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 0.6 basis points to 1.392 percent

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities had a turbulent Thursday, fluctuating between gains and losses on mixed news about the coronavirus outbreak, only to fade after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it will further shrink repurchase agreement operations. The Fed news late in the trading day erased what had been a small gain for S&P 500 Index, which closed lower for the first time this week. The benchmark had bounced back from session lows after the World Health Organization said a surge in coronavirus diagnoses didn’t necessarily indicate a spike in infections. China recently deployed a revised methodology to diagnose the virus, sending the number of confirmed cases soaring, but many of those cases could be days or weeks old, according to the WHO. Traders are still trying to gauge the outbreak’s effect on the economy.
“It’s too early to tell the overall impact on U.S. markets. We seem to continue to be strong and U.S. consumers continue to be strong,” Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA, said by phone. “The question now is, how quickly can the virus get under control and can China limit the extent and get things back to normal as quickly as possible?” The New York Fed said it would shrink repo operations starting with Friday’s overnight offering. The Fed has been conducting repo offerings and Treasury-bill purchases in a bid to keep control of short-term interest rates and bolster bank reserves. The efforts had calmed markets since a September spike. Treasuries trimmed their gains for the day. The euro traded near the lowest since 2017, while the U.K. pound gained and gilts retreated after Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The FTSE 100 Index also declined. Earlier, stock gauges in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea all declined, though shares in Australia edged higher. Oil climbed even as the International Energy Agency said the coronavirus means global demand will drop this quarter for the first time in over a decade.

Here are some key events coming up:
* China and the U.S. on Friday are scheduled to lower tariffs on billions of dollars of respective imports as part of the trade deal signed last month.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.2% to 3,374.18 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 431.08.
*The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 1.1% to 7,452.03, the largest drop in almost two weeks.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 0.4% to 1,105.07.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,207.10.
*The euro declined 0.3% to $1.0841, the weakest in almost three years.
*The British pound advanced 0.7% to $1.3049, the strongest in almost two weeks on the largest rise in almost two weeks.
*The offshore yuan weakened 0.2% to 6.9885 per dollar.
*The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 109.79 per dollar, the largest rise in almost two weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.61%.
*The yield on two-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 1.44%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.39%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.652%, the highest in more than four weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.8% to $51.59 a barrel, the highest in two weeks.
*Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,576.11 an ounce, the highest in more than a week on the largest gain in a week.
*LME copper advanced 0.3% to $5,764 per metric ton, the highest in almost three weeks.

–With assistance from Chester Yung, Cormac Mullen, Livia Yap, Adam Haigh and Yakob Peterseil.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

To achieve greatness, two things are needed:  a plan, and not quite enough time.
                                                                                          -Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990

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:

Darwin Day
Charles Darwin, naturalist, b. 1809
Abraham Lincoln, b. 1809
R. Buckminster Fuller, architect, engineer, b. 1895

Virginia Woolf, Diary, February 12, 1927:
But I am forgetting, after three days, the most important event in my life since marriage  – so, Clive [Bell] described it.  Mr. Cizec has bingled me.  I am short haired for life.  Having no longer, I think, any claims to beauty, the convenience of this alone makes it desirable.  Every morning I go to take up brush and twist that old coil round my finger and fix it with hairpins and then with a start of joy, no I needn’t.
In front there is no change; behind I’m like the rump of a partridge.  This robs dining out of half its terrors.
          A “bingle” is a hair style somewhere between a bob and a shingle.

-from Bloomberg today:
Scientists find a repeating radio signal from deep space. (h/t Scott Kominers)
The last woolly mammoths were a genetic disaster. (h/t Mike Smedley)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A tourist poses for photographs with a pelican enjoying the sunshine in St. Jame’s park in London.
CREDIT: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA-EFE/REX

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in New York City at the Madison Square Garden.
CREDIT: TAYFUN COSKUN/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

These stunning photos show hundreds of penguins letting their hair down in the frozen wastes of the South Atlantic. Taken by photographer Bella Falk, 40, the images show hundreds of King Penguins at the Salisbury Plain and St Andrews Bay breeding colonies in South Georgia, South Atlantic. The two colonies are well-known for their massive penguin populations, with an estimates 60,000 breeding pairs at Salisbury Plain alone. Bella said: The penguin couples come here to incubate their eggs and raise their chicks. They don’t build nests, they incubate the egg on their feet with a flap of skin over the top to keep it warm.
CREDIT:PASSPORT & PIXELS/CATERS NEWS

Market Closes for February 12^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29551.42	+275.08
		+0.94%
S&P 500	3379.45	+21.70
		+0.65%
NASDAQ	9725.961	+87.019 +0.90%
TSX	17832.85	+55.74
		+0.31%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23861.21	+175.23
		+0.74%
HANG SENG	27823.66	+239.78
		+0.87%
SENSEX	41565.90	+349.76
		+0.85%
FTSE 100*	7534.37	+34.93 +0.47%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.389	1.357
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.508	1.473
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6264	1.6006
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0835	2.0652

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75459	0.75243
US $	1.32522	1.32902
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44087	0.69403
US $	1.08727	0.91974

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1570.50	1573.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.17	49.94

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1970, after 178 years, the New York Stock Exchange finally elected its first African-American member, Joseph L. Searles III. Lest any of its members be embarrassed by having to decide whether to let him sit next to them in the NYSE’s private luncheon club, the Exchange gave Mr. Searles his own table. Hit by the bear market of 1970, he was forced to give up his membership that November, but the color barrier had at last been crossed.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.3 percent, or 55.74 to 17,832.85 in Toronto. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained; 134 of 232 shares rose, while 96 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 7.7 percent. Bombardier Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.6 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 14 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 12, 2020 and 14.4 percent above its low on Feb. 12, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.73t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 6.59 percent compared with 6.57 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.11 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 40.9097| 3.7| 8/2
Energy | 15.8284| 0.6| 24/6
Industrials | 7.7224| 0.4| 19/11
Communication Services | 2.9628| 0.3| 5/3
Real Estate | 2.5980| 0.4| 20/5
Utilities | 2.3523| 0.3| 10/6
Consumer Discretionary | 1.5131| 0.2| 10/6
Financials | 0.3570| 0.0| 14/13
Health Care | -1.6975| -0.8| 3/7
Consumer Staples | -4.4522| -0.6| 4/7
Materials | -12.3590| -0.6| 17/30

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities closed at record highs on Wednesday as optimism grew that the global economy can recover from the impact of the coronavirus amid signs the spread of the illness is slowing. Crude rallied and Treasuries fell. The S&P 500 Index gained for the third straight session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index also hit new heights, after China’s Hubei province reported the lowest number of new virus cases this month and suspected infections on the mainland declined. “The virus is an uncertainty, but it seems to be more of a manageable uncertainty and I think that’s the way that the market is looking at it,” said Chuck Cumello, chief executive officer of Essex Financial Services, which has about $2.8 billion in assets under management. Carmakers and banks led the advance in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, even as data showed a deep slump in euro-area industrial output at the end of last year. Asia saw gains for most equity benchmarks, with those in Shanghai and Hong Kong outperforming.
Oil climbed above $51 a barrel in New York, holding that advance even after OPEC slashed forecasts for global demand and U.S. inventories came in higher than estimated. Raw materials including copper and iron ore gained, while core European bonds tracked Treasuries lower and the yen also slipped. New Zealand’s dollar jumped the most in about two months after its central bank said the impact from the virus will be short-lived and it doesn’t project a need for rate cuts this year. Confidence is increasing among some investors that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak will ultimately prove short- lived. President Xi Jinping vowed China would meet its economic goals while winning the battle against the virus that has now claimed 1,115 lives, while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the central bank is keeping a close eye on fallout from the epidemic. Meanwhile, peripheral European bonds bucked declines and the yield on 10-year Greek debt dropped below 1% for the first time.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season continues with reports still due from the likes of Alibaba, Nissan, Credit Suisse, Airbus, Nestle and AIG.
* Thursday brings a gauge of underlying U.S. inflation, the core consumer price index. It is forecast to increase to 0.2% in January, a faster pace than in December.
* China and the U.S. on Friday lower tariffs on billions of dollars of respective imports as part of the trade deal signed last month.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6% to 3,379.38 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8% to 29,550.80, the highest on record.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.9% to 9,725.96, the highest on record.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 0.6% to 580.81, the highest on record.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.1% to 1,206.98.
* The euro decreased 0.4% to $1.0875, the weakest in almost three years.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.3% to 110.08 per dollar, the weakest in more than three weeks.
* New Zealand’s dollar advanced 0.9% to $0.6465, the biggest rise in 10 weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 1.44%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 1.63%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to -0.38%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.611%.
Commodities
* Gold weakened 0.1% to $1,566.76 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 3.2% to $51.54 a barrel, the highest in more than a week on the biggest gain in almost 10 weeks.
* LME copper advanced 1.4% to $5,745 per metric ton, the highest in more than two weeks.

–With assistance from Robert Brand.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, form age to age,
nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.
                                                                             -Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963

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:

1847 – Inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. Go to article »

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. –Thomas Edison, 1847-1931.

1990 – Nelson Mandela released after 27 years imprisonment in South Africa.

You can now download 150,000 illustrations of the natural world.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The British-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft, built for NASA and the European Space Agency, lifts off from pad 41 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA.
CREDIT: JOE RIMKUS JR/REUTERS

Worshippers gather around candles stuck to jars of honey, arranged as a cross, during mass for the ‘santification of honey’ at the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin church in the town of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Honey and beehives are sanctified by performing a ritual for health and rich harvest, marking the day of St. Haralampus, Orthodox patron saint of bee-keepers.
CREDIT: VALENTINA PETROVA/AP

A model walks the runway for the Jason Wu Collection during February 2020- New York Fashion Week: The shows at Skylight Modern.
CREDIT: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

Team GB Archer Tom Hall (L) and Warwick Castle Bowman Lewis Copson go ahead at Warwick Castle in preparation for the Festival of Archery.
CREDIT: JOHN LAWRENCE FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Market Closes for February 11^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29276.34	-0.48
		—
S&P 500	3357.75	+5.66
		+0.17%
NASDAQ	9638.941	+10.552 +0.11%
TSX	17777.11	+36.54
		+0.21%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23685.98	-142.00
		-0.60%
HANG SENG	27583.88	+342.54
		+1.26%
SENSEX	41216.14	+236.52
		+0.58%
FTSE 100*	7499.44	+52.56 +0.71%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.357	1.311
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.473	1.421
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6006	1.5662
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0652	2.0349

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75243	0.75081
US $	1.32902	1.33189
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45104	0.68916
US $	1.09180	0.91591

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1573.20	1572.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	49.94	49.57

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1922, AT&T said it was planning for a nationwide chain of “radiotelephone” stations that would engage in “toll broadcasting.” AT&T proposed 38 stations across the U.S., which anyone could use for a fee (much like a phone booth) to make a radio broadcast. The company did not plan to produce programming itself, but would simply offer “the channels through which anyone with whom it makes a contract can send out their own programs.” It was the earliest known proposal for commercial broadcasting (and, like many AT&T innovations, made more money for other companies).
Canada
By Michael Bellusci and Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose for a second-straight session, closing at a record high. Meanwhile, Canadian National Railway Co. said it will have to shut down “significant” parts of its network as an Indigenous protest against a west coast pipeline escalates, the latest backlash against the country’s oil and gas industry. The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2%, or 36.54, to 17,777.11 in Toronto. Gold posted its first decline in five sessions as investors looked past concerns about the coronavirus to boost equities, weakening demand for haven assets. Copper and other base metals advanced.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,568.15 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2% to C$1.3291 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield gained 3.9 basis points to 1.350%
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 16.5037| 0.3| 23/4
Materials | 12.7240| 0.7| 33/13
Energy | 6.9552| 0.2| 18/10
Consumer Discretionary | 6.5460| 0.9| 13/3
Utilities | 4.3986| 0.5| 15/1
Health Care | 2.0246| 1.0| 7/2
Industrials | 0.4637| 0.0| 22/9
Real Estate | -0.8680| -0.1| 10/13
Information Technology | -1.6318| -0.1| 5/5
Communication Services | -2.9655| -0.3| 2/5
Consumer Staples | -7.6181| -1.1| 3/8

US
By Todd White
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fought off a late-session swoon to close at fresh heights Tuesday, amid reports that the Federal Trade Commission is looking into acquisitions by some of the country’s biggest tech companies. The S&P 500 Index faded from session highs after the FTC news, with Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. among the decliners. Health-care and consumer-discretionary shares led the day’s advancers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 were little changed. Ten-year Treasury yields rose, while the dollar dropped for the first time in five sessions. Investors have been more bullish lately despite the coronavirus outbreak, signaling some confidence that central banks could ease policy in the event growth slows down. In remarks to Congress Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, while positive about the American economic outlook, said the central bank is keeping a close eye on fallout from the epidemic, which continues to disrupt travel and trade.
“With fundamentals strong, a robust employment situation and inflation on track, Powell’s cautiously optimistic stance isn’t too surprising, especially since coronavirus fears and trade tensions are at bay,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial. “What remains to be seen is the lasting effect of the coronavirus on global growth, which is already tepid.” Oil bounced back from Monday’s swoon and gold fell. Bitcoin surged back above $10,000. European and Asian equity benchmarksclosed higher.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season continues with reports including MGM Resorts International and Softbank on Wednesday; Thursday will bring Alibaba, Nissan, Credit Suisse, Airbus, Nestle and AIG.
* A key contest for Democrat presidential hopefuls unfolds Tuesday, when the state of New Hampshire holds a primary vote.
* Thursday sees a gauge of underlying U.S. inflation, the core consumer price index. It is forecast to increase to 0.2% in January, a faster pace than in December.
* China and the U.S. on Friday lower tariffs on billions of dollars of respective imports as part of the trade deal signed last month.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index increased 0.2% to 3,357.77 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.9% to 428.48, the highest on record.
*The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6% to 169.93.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1.1% to 1,098.98.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,205.58, the first retreat in a week and the largest drop in more than a week.
*The British pound gained 0.3% to $1.2956, the biggest rise in more than a week.
*The euro gained 0.1% to $1.0919, the first advance in more than a week.
*The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.79 per dollar.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.59%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to -0.39%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.569%.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.9% to $50 a barrel.
*Gold weakened 0.2% to $1,568.25 an ounce, the first retreat in a week.
*LME copper increased 0.1% to $5,667 per metric ton.

–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

In a nation of millions, and in a world of billions,
the individual is still the first and basic agent of change.
                                                              -Lyndon B. Johnson, 1908-1973

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:

February 10, 1763 – France ceded Canada to England under the Treaty of Paris, which ended the French and Indian War. Go to article »

This cherry-blossom tree is the biggest Lego sculpture on record. (h/t Scott Kominers) –Bloomberg.

Every Oscar Best Picture winner, ranked. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Supermoon is seen rising behind Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey.
CREDIT: GOKHAN BALCI/ANADOLU

Boats sail during the water parade, part of the Venice Carnival, in Venice, Italy.
CREDIT: ANTONIO CALANNI/AP

Some people enjoyed the weather watching the waves on the beach of Scheveningen, Netherlands. The storm Ciara has reached the coast of Holland with strong winds that caused trees to fall, destroying roofs of houses and disrupting trains and flights at Schipol airport.
CREDIT: NACHO CALONGE/GETTY IMAGES

Maren Lundby of Norway soars through the air during the first round at the ladies’ Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping event, of the FIS ski jumping World Cup in Hinzenbach, Austria.
CREDIT: GEORG HOCHMUTH/GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for February 10^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29276.82	+174.31
		+0.60%
S&P 500	3352.09	+24.38
		+0.73%
NASDAQ	9628.391	+107.878 +1.13%
TSX	17740.57	+85.08
		+0.48%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23685.98	-142.00
		-0.60%
HANG SENG	27241.34	-162.93
		-0.59%
SENSEX	40979.62	-162.23
		-0.39%
FTSE 100*	7446.88	-19.82 -0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.311	1.326
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.421	1.434
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5662	1.5817
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0349	2.0437

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75081	0.75169
US $	1.33189	1.33034
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45320	0.68814
US $	1.09108	0.91652

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1572.65	1563.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	49.57	50.32

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Dr. Martin Baily, chairman of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, declared, “The fundamentals look very good. As long as we stick to sound policy, there’s no reason why it [the nation’s economic expansion, then 107 months long] cannot continue indefinitely.” By the end of the year, the economy was heading into recession.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.5 percent at 17,740.57 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.6 percent. Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 146 of 232 shares rose, while 78 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.8 percent. Great Canadian Gaming Corp. had the largest increase, rising 10.9 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 13 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 6, 2020 and 14.1 percent above its low on Feb. 11, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1 percent 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 18.2 on a trailing basis and 15.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.71t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.65 percent compared with 6.74 percent in the previous session and the average of 4.97 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 20.9179| 1.1| 37/9
Information Technology | 18.4372| 1.7| 9/1
Energy | 15.9265| 0.6| 13/15
Consumer Discretionary | 8.4124| 1.2| 11/5
Utilities | 8.2347| 0.9| 13/3
Industrials | 7.8480| 0.4| 22/8
Consumer Staples | 5.0695| 0.7| 10/1
Communication Services | 2.2832| 0.2| 3/5
Real Estate | 1.0437| 0.2| 15/10
Financials | -0.1065| 0.0| 10/15
Health Care | -2.9909| -1.4| 3/6

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 1.6 basis points to 1.310 percent

US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities started the week strong as investors looked past the potential economic hit from the spreading coronavirus to prepare for more corporate earnings. The S&P 500 Index rose to a new high Monday, with most sectors advancing. Energy company shares proved the exception, declining as West Texas crude fell below $50 a barrel. Treasuries and European bonds edged higher, and the dollar held steady versus a basket of its major peers. Asia’s main equity gauges fell everywhere apart from Shanghai. Traders monitored the restart of Chinese factories and the possible chaos that may ensue as several hundred thousand people begin returning to work at companies like Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn. General Motors Co. will restart production in China beginning Feb. 15. With cases of the coronavirus outside of China on the rise and various companies pulling back from international meetings, investors are trying to figure out whether the rate of contagion is stabilizing. In the meantime, monetary authorities across emerging markets have stepped in to help shore up the financial system. The People’s Bank of China moved to keep liquidity ample Monday through reverse-repurchase agreements.
“As disconcerting as the spread of the coronavirus has been to date, the global focus on the illness is likely to produce a solution to stem its spread before long,” John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management, wrote in a note. “Economic data released last week underscored strength and resilience in the U.S. labor market and pointed toward the sustainability of the U.S. economic expansion.” The euro declined after the region was buffeted by political headlines. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s succession plan collapsed, and polls put Sinn Fein in place for a possible role in Ireland’s government, depressing the country’s banking stocks. European equities closed higher. Earnings are due this week from major names like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Credit Suisse Group AG and Nestle SA. Elsewhere, emerging-market currencies steadied against the dollar. Bitcoin traded just below $10,000, having risen above that mark over the weekend for the first time since October.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings season continues with reports including: MGM Resorts and Cisco Systems on Monday; Softbank on Wednesday; Thursday will bring Alibaba, Nissan, Credit Suisse, Airbus, Nestle and AIG.
* Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivers his semiannual testimony in Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday; ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Tuesday.
* Thursday brings a gauge of underlying U.S. inflation, the core consumer price index. It’s expected to increase to 0.2% in January, a faster pace than in December.
* China and the U.S. on Friday lower tariffs on billions of dollars of respective imports, as part of the trade deal signed last month.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index increased 0.7% to 3,352.13 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1% to 424.64.
*The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.5% to 168.88.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.4% to 1,086.80.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,207.56, the highest in more than 10 weeks.
*The British pound climbed 0.2% to $1.2912.
*The euro dipped 0.3% to $1.0913, hitting the weakest in 19 weeks with its sixth consecutive decline.
*The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.74 per dollar.
*The offshore yuan strengthened 0.3% to 6.9854 per dollar, the largest increase in four weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 1.56%, the lowest in a week.
*Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to -0.41%, the lowest in a week on the largest drop in more than a week.
*Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.557%, the lowest in a week.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $49.58 a barrel, the lowest in more than 13 months on the largest fall in a week.
*Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,573.67 an ounce, the highest in a week.
*LME copper dipped 1.3% to $5,663 per metric ton, the largest decrease in two weeks.

–With assistance from Cecile Vannucci, Adam Haigh and Todd White.
Have a great night!

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Life is the sum of all your choices.
                                          -Albert Camus, 1913-1960

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

A Snow Moon, the first supermoon of 2020, will light up the sky this weekend
If you’re in parts of the world that have been unseasonably warm, you can consider it more of a tepid rain moon. –CNN.

THE MAN IN THE MOON
             -by Billy Collins
He used to frighten me in the nights
of childhood,
the wide adult face, enormous, stern, aloft
I could not imagine such loneliness, such coldness
But tonight as I drive home over
these hilly roads
I see him sinking behind stands of winter trees
And rising again to show his familiar face
And when he comes into full view
over open fields
he looks like a young man who has fallen in love
with the dark earth
a pale bachelor, well-groomed and
full of melancholy
his round mouth open
as if he had just broken into song.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A golden sunset at Bats Head near Lulworth in Dorset looking west towards Weymouth and the Isle of Portland viewed from Swyre Head.
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS.

Willem Van Gogh, the great grand-nephew of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, Stands next to a large version of one of Van Gogh’s paintings of Sunflowers at the Meet Vincent van Gogh experience, London.
CREDIT- EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH

All the way from the Outer Hebrides to Outer Space. The Hebridean Dark Skies Festival is a two week celebration where the stars will literally be themselves – and guaranteed to appear most nights.
CREDIT: MIKE MERRITT

A woman walks in a park during a heavy snowfall in Sofia.
CREDIT: NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for February 07^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29102.51	-277.26
		-0.94%
S&P 500	3327.71	-18.07
		-0.54%
NASDAQ	9520.512	-51.642 -0.54%
TSX	17655.49	-102.00
		-0.57%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23827.98	-45.61
		-0.19%
HANG SENG	27404.27	-89.43
		-0.33%
SENSEX	41141.85	-164.18
		-0.40%
FTSE 100*	7466.70	-38.09 -0.51%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.326	1.369
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.434	1.486
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5817	1.6422
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.0437	2.1096

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75169	0.75268
US $	1.33034	1.32858
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45623	0.68671
US $	1.09463	0.91355

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1563.30	1553.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.32	50.95

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2008, Congress approved a $168 billion economic-stimulus plan, paving the way for over 130 million households to get tax-rebate checks of $300 to $1,200.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time this week after the U.S. Federal Reserve Board warned that the coronavirus presents a “new risk” to the economy, putting investors in a risk-off mood. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.6% to 17,655.49 Friday, reducing its weekly gain to 2%. Health-care stocks led the decline as Aurora Cannabis Inc. tumbled 15%. The pot company announced that its CEO is departing, it’s cutting jobs, it’s writing down as much as C$1 billion and its preliminary revenue was well below estimates. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. took a hit from the spreading coronavirus fallout, losing 4.3% after it cut its full-year forecast on the impact on China sales.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.90 discount to WTI
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,573.80 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2% to C$1.3303 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 4 basis points to 1.33%
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -41.1794| -2.2| 6/40
Industrials | -22.6156| -1.1| 5/26
Energy | -15.8494| -0.6| 7/23
Financials | -11.1677| -0.2| 8/19
Health Care | -9.6811| -4.4| 0/10
Consumer Discretionary | -5.1136| -0.7| 4/13
Consumer Staples | -2.4538| -0.3| 3/7
Information Technology | -0.1785| 0.0| 2/8
Real Estate | 0.9845| 0.2| 17/7
Communication Services | 2.0787| 0.2| 5/3
Utilities | 3.1880| 0.4| 11/5

US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities limped into the weekend as renewed concern the coronavirus will slow global growth overshadowed fresh signs of a strong labor market. Treasuries jumped. The S&P 500 Index halted a four-day rally, but still notched its best week since June. The latest jobs report showed hiring stayed robust last month, bolstering optimism growth can persist. But stocks remained lower after reports of further infections, an increase in deaths and more quarantines. The Federal Reserve warned the outbreak posed a “new risk” to the economy. The fallout for companies is starting to come into focus, with corporations such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. temporarily halting operations in China. Apple Inc.’s iPhone maker Foxconn told employees not to return to work when China’s extended break ends Monday. The 10-year Treasury yield slumped below 1.6% and crude lost its grip on $51 a barrel.
“The market moved up so quickly over the last few days and I think papered over the continued risk associated with the coronavirus,” said Robin Anderson, senior global economist at Principal Global Investors. “There’s still a lot of unknowns out there.” Australia’s dollar dropped to its lowest level in a decade with the fallout from the coronavirus hurting riskier assets. Equities pushed lower across most of Asia as news of further infections on a cruise ship off Japan offered another reminder that cases remain on the rise. Singapore boosted its disease response to the second-highest level, the same one for the SARS epidemic. Confirmed cases worldwide now total 31,432, having risen more than 3,000 in one day, while the death toll reached 638. Meanwhile, the presidents of China and the U.S. reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of a phase-one trade deal in a phone call Friday.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.3%.
* The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2%.
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2896.
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0946.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 109.77 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell seven basis points to 1.57%.
* The two-year rate dropped to 1.4%
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.57%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to -0.39%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $50.42 a barrel.
* Gold futures added 0.3% to $1,574.20 an ounce.
* Copper fell 1.7% to $2.55 a pound.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Cormac Mullen, Constantine Courcoulas and Todd White.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Beauty is no quality in things themselves.  It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them. 
                                                                                               –David Hume, 1711-76.

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:

The Poem

ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT
                     -by Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. 
I have been one acquainted with the night.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Starlings create spectacular shapes performing their daily murmuration, over Brighton Palace Pier, as dusk falls.
CREDIT: SIMON DACK/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

A main highway devastated by severe flooding near Mataura in New Zealand’s South Island.

Severe flooding forced thousands of residents in New Zealand’s South Island to flee their homes and left hundreds of tourists stranded at the remote Milford Sound beauty spot.
CREDIT: NEW ZEALAND ROADS AGENCY/STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

People take in Submerge, an immersive installation inspired by the Pantone Color of the Year 2020 at ARTECHOUSE NYC, located at Chelsea Market in Manhattan, NYC.

Classic Blue is the name of the Pantone Color of the Year for 2020.
CREDIT: SETH HARRISON/ THE JOURNAL NEWS/USA TODAY NETWORK/ SIPA USA

Market Closes for February 06^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29379.77	+88.92
		+0.30%
S&P 500	3345.78	+11.09
		+0.33%
NASDAQ	9572.156	+63.473 +0.67%
TSX	17757.49	+105.90
		+0.60%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23873.50	+554.03
		+2.38%
HANG SENG	27493.70	+706.96
		+2.64%
SENSEX	41306.03	+163.37
		+0.40%
FTSE 100*	7504.79	+22.31 +0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.369	1.391
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.486	1.511
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6422	1.6526
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1096	2.1357

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75268	0.75253
US $	1.32858	1.32885
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45893	0.68543
US $	1.09811	0.91065

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1553.30	1558.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.95	50.75

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1808, the Milan Stock Exchange (Borsa Valori di Milano, now called La Borsa Italiana) was established.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to a second consecutive record, as strong corporate earnings overwhelmed continued uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of the coronavirus. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6% to 17,757.49, led by consumer staples and communication services. BCE Inc. was one of the biggest contributors to the benchmark’s gain, rising 2.1% after it reported fourth-quarter earnings and boosted its dividend by 5%. Suncor Energy Inc. was the biggest obstacle in the market, falling 3.7% after its quarterly output fell and operating earnings per share missed estimates. Today, 8 of 11 sectors gained; 162 of 232 shares rose, while 68 fell.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.35 discount to WTI
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,569.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.3293 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 1.37%
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 48.8131| 0.9| 25/2
Materials | 16.5838| 0.9| 32/15
Communication Services | 13.1580| 1.4| 7/1
Consumer Staples | 11.8259| 1.7| 10/1
Industrials | 9.2018| 0.5| 21/10
Utilities | 8.7254| 1.0| 13/2
Real Estate | 6.5950| 1.1| 24/1
Information Technology | 6.4760| 0.6| 5/5
Consumer Discretionary | -3.2741| -0.5| 9/8
Health Care | -3.3841| -1.5| 4/6
Energy | -8.8277| -0.3| 12/17

US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks continued their relentless push higher even as the economic impact from the deadly coronavirus remains murky. Treasuries were mixed and gold advanced. The S&P 500 Index’s four-day rally hit 3.7% as major equity benchmarks added to all-time highs on the strength of solid corporate results and signs that central banks stand ready to act if growth falters. The torrid ascent has some firms warning about a sense of euphoria taking over among investors, especially as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread and China’s economy remains virtually locked down. Treasuries edged higher and gold climbed in a sign of some demand for haven assets.
In corporate news, Boeing spiked 3.6% after saying it fixed a software bug in its grounded plane. Twitter Inc. rallied 15% after topping projections for fourth-quarter revenue. Strong results helped powered the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to a record. Crude oil edged above $51 a barrel in New York. “A lot of the moves this week have been explained by a relief rally that the coronavirus seems to be slowing somewhat, clearly there was a lot of uncertainty embedded in market behavior coming in,” said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management. “It does still have a number of question marks still out there.”
Here are some key events coming up:
* German industrial production is due on Friday.
* The U.S. employment report for January is set for Friday release.
* Australia’s central bank chief speaks and takes questions at a parliamentary committee.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.8%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.098.
* The onshore yuan was little changed at 6.9708 per dollar.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 109.98 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.65%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.37%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.024%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $51.01 a barrel.
* Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,570 an ounce.

–With assistance from Yakob Peterseil and Adam Haigh.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best,  you very often get it.
-W. Somerset Maugham, 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