Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

March 13, 1781: Planet Uranus discovered.

March 13, 1969: Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module.
1884: Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States.  Go to article » 

1887: Earmuffs patented.

Rare galaxy with three black holes leads astronomers to the most massive objects in the universe: Glimpsed only occasionally at the hearts of massive clusters of galaxies, ultra-massive black holes are some of the largest and most elusive objects in the universe.
Now, researchers studying a rare galaxy merger with three supermassive black holes at its center may have finally discovered the origins of these cosmic monsters. Full Story: Live Science (3/10)

Earliest mention of Odin, ‘king of the gods,’ found in treasure hoard from Denmark: A gold pendant recently unearthed in Denmark bears the earliest known inscription featuring the Norse god Odin.
Archaeologists think the pendant — which is technically known as a bracteate and made of thin, stamped gold — dates to the fifth century A.D., making it 150 years older than the previous oldest known artifact mentioning Norse mythology. Full Story: Live Science (3/11)

Reduce stress and boost happiness with these daily practices.  Practicing gratitude regularly offers many health and wellness benefits. Follow these four steps to boost your happiness year-round.

“The Little Mermaid” reveals first full trailer during the Oscars: The wait is over, Disney enthusiasts: A new trailer for the live-action remake debuted during last night’s Oscars. Watch it here.

This year’s March Madness is upon us:  The best college basketball teams from across the US are set to go head-to-head for prestigious NCAA titles, with matches beginning later this week. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the men’s and women’s tournaments.

How are you adjusting to Daylight Saving Time?  In case you missed it, clocks in most of the US and many other countries “sprang forward” one hour on Sunday. Learn more about the time change.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hong Kong
A helicopter flies near the artwork Giants: Rising Up at Harbour City. The 12-metre x 12-metre installation by the French artist JR depicts a high jumper, adjacent to Victoria Harbour
Photograph: Jérôme Favre/EPA

London, UK
Quinten Massys’ An Old Woman, which became known as The Ugly Duchess, here reunited with her male pendant, An Old Man, on rare loan from a private collection in New York. The two works have been shown together only once in their history. The ‘ugly’ nickname came after she inspired John Tenniel’s illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865)
Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

In 2018, artist Phyllida Barlow’s work Quarry was unveiled at the Scottish sculpture park Jupiter Artland to celebrate the organisation’s 10th anniversary. It was Barlow’s first permanent outdoor commission – and it was comprised of two columns and a staircase made of stone, all of which seemingly rose to nowhere.  Barlow died this week.
Photograph: Andy Catlin/Alamy
Market Closes for March 13^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	31819.14	-90.50
		-0.28%
S&P 500	3855.76	-5.83
		-0.15%
NASDAQ	11188.84	+49.95
		+0.45%
TSX	19588.90	-186.02
		-0.94%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27832.96	-311.01
		-1.11%
HANG SENG	19695.97	+376.05
		+1.95%
SENSEX	58237.85	-897.28
		-1.52%
FTSE 100*	7548.63	-199.72
		-2.58%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.765		2.992
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.807		2.913
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.5374		3.6987
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.6864		3.7065

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7286	0.7243
US $	1.3725	1.3806
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4727	0.6790
US  $	1.0729	0.9321

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1861.25	1831.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	74.80	76.68

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1986, Microsoft Corp. went public at an initial offering price of $21 a share, raising $61 million just one day after Oracle Corp.’s own IPO. Microsoft closed the day at $28.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.9%, or 186.02 to 19,588.90 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Jan. 5.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 151 of 236 shares fell, while 83 rose.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4%.
Bombardier Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.9%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 1.1%
* The index declined 8.7% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 9.2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11.8% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 9.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 4.5% in the past 5 days and fell 5.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.6 on a trailing basis and 12.7 times estimated earnings ofits members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-monthbasis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.16t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.40% compared with 10.25% in the previous session and the average of 8.28% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -125.9396| -2.1| 2/27
Energy | -95.9656| -2.7| 3/36
Industrials | -14.5465| -0.5| 7/19
Consumer Discretionary| -11.1376| -1.6| 0/15
Consumer Staples | -5.2482| -0.6| 2/9
Health Care | -1.0144| -1.4| 2/5
Communication Services| 0.1426| 0.0| 3/3
Real Estate | 0.7264| 0.1| 11/10
Information Technology| 1.4499| 0.1| 6/8
Utilities | 10.6098| 1.2| 13/3
Materials | 49.2081| 2.1| 34/16
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -36.0000| -3.4| 255.7| -7.7
Canadian Natural | | | |
Resources | -24.8800| -4.2| 84.3| -0.6
Suncor Energy | -22.7600| -5.3| -7.7| 2.0
Agnico Eagle Mines | 8.6620| 4.4| 18.5| -6.8
Wheaton Precious | | | |
Metals | 10.8100| 6.2| 59.2| 12.3
Barrick Gold | 16.7300| 6.2| 48.0| 0.7
US
By Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — The yield on the two-year Treasury note plunged in its biggest one-day slump in decades, while tech stocks rebounded from last week’s rout as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank reverberated across trading desks.
The two-year yield dropped by more than a half-percentage point, logging the biggest three-day retreat since Black Monday of October 1987, as investors poured into haven assets.
The dollar erased its gains for the year on Monday.
Traders will soon turn their attention back to Tuesday’s consumer price index report, which could drive further bets on the Federal Reserve’s next move.
The market turmoil has caused a swift reassessment over the direction of Fed policy.
Swaps traders are now pricing a less than 60% chance the Fed will hike by another quarter percentage-point later this month.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists as well as asset managers at the world’s largest actively managed bond fund from Pacific Investment Management Co. are saying the Fed could take a breather on the policy rate following the
collapse of SVB.
Nomura economists took it one step further, saying the Fed could cut its target rate next week.

Expectations had weighed a hike of as much as 50 basis points after Chair Jerome Powell addressed lawmakers last Tuesday.
The S&P 500 closed the day down 0.2%, after bouncing between gains and losses amid a rout in bank shares while the policy-sensitive Nasdaq climbed 0.8%, the most in over a week.
The fallout from SVB’s collapse prompted President Joe Biden to promise stronger regulation of US lenders, while reassuring depositors that their money is safe.
First Republic Bank plunged 62% as heightened worries about the state of US regional banks triggered trading halts across the sector.
The KBW Bank Index logged its biggest one-day drop  since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Problem is that nobody wants to be the last one in a room turning off the light. In other words, as soon as there is a problem in one bank, fear is real. Immediately everybody starts to say, ‘wait a minute, should I also have my deposits at bank ABCD etc.?,’” Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, managing principal at MRV Associates said on Bloomberg TV.  “Bond yields go up, which signal to the rest of the market that there is an increasing probability of default and loss severity. Even if the bank is well capitalized,” she added.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her office would protect “all depositors” at SVB.
The government actions will also include a new lending program that Fed officials said would be big enough to protect uninsured deposits in the wider US banking sector.
Still, the sudden closing of New York’s Signature Bank by state regulators Sunday underscored the urgency of stabilizing the financial system.
“Warren Buffett said once, when a tide goes out, we find out who’s not wearing swimming suits and we found out already three folks that weren’t wearing swimming suits,” Ralph Schlosstein, Evercore ISI’s chairman emeritus told Bloomberg Television. “Over the weekend, the Fed showed up at the beach and started handing out swimming suits to everyone.”
Wall Street’s so-called “fear gauge” spiked, with the CBOE Volatility Index rising above 30 for the first time since October.
Monday’s market moves come after risk assets got pummeled last week, with the US stock benchmark suffering its worst week since September. 
Wall Street weighs in on the Fed’s next move: 
We forecast a 25bp Fed hike, but Powell talk and high CPI point to close call.
The threat to our views comes from Fed Chair Powell. While Powell opened the door to a large March hike, he did not walk through it, noting that the upcoming decision will be determined by “the totality of the data.”
The Fed decision will incorporate two additional factors.
First, this week’s CPI report. Second, the Fed will consider the potential for financial stress to build. — Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist The Fed has to be off the table for now.
They pushed on rates until something cracked, well guess what? Something cracked. 
To see QT stop would not be surprising, and maybe something to support the market. I think we’re back in crisis mode, and remember, to me, bank runs are way way way more important than inflation, so that’s what they’ve got to be arresting. — Peter Tchir, head of macro strategy at Academy Securities
Pressure on banks dampens the rate outlook some, but decisive action on financial stability gives the Fed latitude to continue with rate hikes; 50 in March is not impossible as it would have been under a weak financial stability response and ongoing runs but looks very implausible – we still see 25 with a high bar to pause. — Krishna Guha, Evercore ISI head of central bank strategy
Led by ex-Federal Reserve chair after the financial crisis, Janet Yellen, the comprehensive set of measures has helped to ensure that doubts over systemic issues in the US banking system have been put to bed. With a speedy response to the crisis delivered, the Fed can get back to its day job of raising interest rates to deal with inflation.   — James Lynch, fixed income investment manager at Aegon Asset Management
Speculation about what the Fed’s going to do before we even see CPI is probably ill-founded. But if you look at the fed funds futures, they’re pricing in cuts in the fourth quarter and they’re pricing in the credible potential — like a 50% chance — that the Fed does nothing at the March meeting. So there’s too much noise around what else happens, what does this mean for  monetary policy. — Arthur Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth
Elsewhere in markets, oil dipped while gold rose on its allure as a haven.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7%
* The euro rose 0.8% to $1.0730
* The British pound rose 1.3% to $1.2184
* The Japanese yen rose 1.3% to 133.33 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 14% to $24,393.75
* Ether rose 8.1% to $1,684.29
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 17 basis points to 3.53%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined 25 basis points to 2.26%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 27 basis points to 3.37%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3% to $74.41 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 2.8% to $1,918.70 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Cecile Gutscher, Angel Adegbesan, Alyce Andres and Benjamin Purvis.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds.  The pessimist fears it is true. –J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1904-1967.

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.
Here comes another time change (yes, we’re still doing this).  Daylight saving time starts this weekend, springing our clocks forward an hour.

Changing our clocks is silly.

March 10,2000: the Dot-com bubble peaks with the NASDAQ Composite Index reaching 5,048.62.
March 10, 2008: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer apologized after allegations surfaced that he had paid thousands of dollars for a high-end call girl, a scandal which eventually led to his resignation. Go to article » 

Jimmy Fallon pranks judges on ‘The Voice’: The comedian shocked the judges with an unexpected performance of Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’.” Watch the video here.

World’s biggest spokeless Ferris wheel will be built in South Korea.  Normally, Ferris wheels have complex cables running through the middle. This attraction, on the other hand, takes a much more futuristic approach.

NASA rover shares stunning photo of sunset on Mars.  The rover recently sent back photos of night-shining clouds at sunset.

Gladiators fought in Roman Britain, action-packed cremation urn carvings reveal.  Vivid depictions of battling gladiators on a clay vase are the first concrete evidence that these combatants duked it out in Roman Britain, new research finds.  A forthcoming study has revealed that the vase was made with local clay as a souvenir of a specific match in the second century A.D., giving researchers unprecedented insight into sporting events in the outskirts of the empire.  Full Story: Live Science (3/9)

Scientists use optical tweezers to play world’s smallest game of catch with individual atoms.  Scientists using tiny optical tweezers have played the world’s smallest game of catch — throwing and catching individual atoms using light.
The feat, achieved with highly-focused laser beams that held atoms in place before launching them, is the first time that atoms have been thrown from one pair of optical tweezers to another. Full Story: Live Science (3/9)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Merseyside, UK
Snow surrounds one of the Antony Gormley statues that make up Another Place at Crosby Beach
Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Plobannalec-Lesconil, France
A huge wave hits the coast
Photograph: Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images

Donetsk, Ukraine
A cat looks down at a Ukrainian soldier resting in a trench on the frontline with Russian-backed separatists near Krasnogorivka village
Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 10^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	31909.64	-345.22
		-1.07%
S&P 500	3861.59	-56.73
		-1.45%
NASDAQ	11138.89	-199.46
		-1.76%
TSX	19774.92	-311.80
		-1.55%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28143.97	-479.18
		-1.67%
HANG SENG	19319.92	-605.82
		-3.04%
SENSEX	59135.13	-671.15
		-1.12%
FTSE 100*	7748.35	-131.63
		-1.67%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.992		3.157
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.913		3.036
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.6987		3.9052
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.7065		3.8548

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7243	0.7233
US $	1.3806	1.3825
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4725	0.6791
US  $	1.0666	0.9376

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1831.40	1816.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.68	75.72

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in1912: John Marks Templeton was born in Winchester, Tenn. He went on to found the Templeton Growth Fund and invent the discipline of global investing.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.6%, or 311.8 to 19,774.92 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest loss since Nov. 9.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as all sectors lost; 194 of 236 shares fell, while 41 rose.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.2%.
Enghouse Systems Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 24.7%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 14 times. The next day, it declined 11 times for an average 0.8% and advanced three times for an average 1.4%
* This quarter, the index rose 2%
* So far this week, the index fell 3.9%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Sept. 23
* The index declined 8.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 10.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.8 on a trailing basis and 12.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.21t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.25% compared with 9.29% in the previous session and the average of 8.18% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -136.7129| -2.2| 0/29
Energy | -44.1651| -1.2| 6/33
Information Technology| -40.0707| -3.1| 1/13
Industrials | -31.6873| -1.2| 3/23
Consumer Staples | -17.2942| -2.1| 0/11
Utilities | -14.0321| -1.6| 0/16
Real Estate | -11.1701| -2.2| 1/21
Consumer Discretionary| -9.4903| -1.3| 1/14
Materials | -8.1914| -0.4| 26/24
Communication Services| -2.5082| -0.3| 2/4
Health Care | -2.2080| -2.9| 1/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -23.2100| -2.2| 170.4| -4.4
RBC | -21.9500| -1.7| 10.6| 4.6
Brookfield Corp | -21.2300| -4.9| 94.5| -2.6
Rogers Communications| 2.0840| 1.4| 198.6| -2.2
Barrick Gold | 5.9850| 2.3| 48.9| -5.2
Wheaton Precious | | | |
Metals | 6.0930| 3.6| 60.2| 5.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A renewed bout of volatility rattled markets around the world as SVB Financial Group’s turmoil spurred concern about further distress in the banking industry at a time when the Federal Reserve is deploying its most-aggressive tightening campaign in a generation.
Not even remarks from prominent voices that a systemic financial crisis is unlikely was able to appease investors.
Equities sold off, with the S&P 500 coming close to wiping out its 2023 gains.
Traders rushed in droves to the safety of bonds, which also soared after jobs figures offered a glimmer of hope that the Fed may refrain from accelerating its pace of rate hikes.
As risk assets got pummeled, the US stock benchmark suffered its worst week since September.
Wall Street’s so-called “fear gauge” spiked, with the CBOE Volatility Index hitting the highest this year.
Treasury two-year yields plummeted 28 basis points to 4.59%.
The trigger for further de-risking was the official news that Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest US financial failure in more than a decade, after its long-established customer base of tech startups grew worried and yanked deposits.
It’s the second regional lender to fold this week after Silvergate Capital Corp. announced it was voluntarily liquidating its bank.
Anxiety is also running high ahead of next week’s consumer price index report, especially after Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently emphasized that a move to a faster pace of tightening would be based on the “totality of the data.”
“We are just beginning to feel the effects of quantitative tightening on markets and the economy,” said Peter van Dooijeweert at Man Solutions. “As such, the market seems to be reverting to a 25 basis-point hike next meeting after almost being certain of 50 basis points only a few days ago.
The worst-case scenario ahead would be a high CPI next week forcing the Fed’s hand despite hints of financial stability issues.”
Swap traders now see a 25-basis point hike at the March policy meeting as more likely than half-point move.
They also lowered expectations for how high the Fed will push the borrowing costs — once again fully pricing in a rate cut from the peak level by year-end.
The rate hikes of the past year were not a prelude to a steady Goldilocks economy that’s running neither too hot nor too cold, but instead to a “hard landing and credit events,” strategists led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a note on fund flows pointing to another risk-off week in markets.
Investors pulled $500 million from equity funds and piled $18.1 billion into cash and $8.2 billion into bonds, according to BofA citing EPFR Global data for the period through March 8.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US banking system “remains resilient” and regulators “have effective tools” to address developments around Silicon Valley Bank.
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the meltdown of SVB shouldn’t pose a threat to the financial system as long as depositors are made whole.
“Contagion risk and the systemic threat can be easily contained by careful balance sheet management and avoiding more policy mistakes,” Mohamed El-Erian, the chairman of Gramercy Funds and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, said in a tweet on Friday.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0639
* The British pound rose 0.8% to $1.2026
* The Japanese yen rose 1% to 134.83 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $19,974.68
* Ether fell 1% to $1,418.3
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 22 basis points to 3.68%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined 13 basis points to 2.51%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 16 basis points to 3.64%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $76.56 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 2.1% to $1,873.60 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee and Michael P. Regan.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
You take on what’s right in front of you.  You want to do the best you can with the opportunities that you have. -Don Shula, 1930-2020.

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 Eve.

March 9,1862: The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
On March 9, 1862, the Space Shuttle Discovery was retired after completing its final mission, STS-133. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. Go to article » 

1959: Barbie doll debuts.

CNN reporter calls his parents using AI voice. Watch what happens next.  If you have a short recording of someone’s voice, you can use this artificial intelligence tool to make the voice say just about anything. It’s convincing … scary convincing.

Two diets reduced signs of Alzheimer’s in brain tissue, study finds. People who consumed food from the Mediterranean and MIND diets had fewer of the hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s when autopsied.

Bronze Age craftspeople tempered steel more than 1,000 years before the Romans did it: Intricate 2,900-year-old engravings on stone monuments from what is now Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula could only have been made using steel instruments, archaeologists have found.
The discovery hints at small-scale steel production during the Final Bronze Age, a century before the practice became widespread in ancient Rome.  Full Story: Live Science (3/9)

Antarctica’s sea ice reaches its lowest level since records began, for the 2nd year in a row.  The amount of sea ice surrounding Antarctica has reached its lowest level since modern records began, for the second year in a row.  Last year, the minimum sea ice extent was less than 772,000 square miles (2 million square km), the lowest total since scientists began recording sea ice extent with satellites in 1979. On Feb. 21 this year, that number had shrunk to just 691,000 square miles (1.8 million square km), which is roughly 40% less than the average between 1981 and 2010.  Full Story: Live Science (3/8)

Scientists discover enzyme that can turn air into energy, unlocking potential new energy source.  Scientists studying a cousin of the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and leprosy have discovered an enzyme that converts hydrogen into electricity, and they think it could be used to create a new, clean source of energy literally from thin air.  The enzyme, which has been named Huc, is used by the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis to draw energy from atmospheric hydrogen, enabling it to survive in extreme, nutrient-poor environments. Full Story: Live Science (3/8)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Barcelona, Spain
Moco Museum’s owner, Kim Logchies-Prins (centre), speaks to the Serbian artist Marina Abramović (right) during her visit to the gallery. Abramović will have her show 7 Deaths of Maria Callas premier at the Liceu opera in Barcelona
Photograph: Enric Fontcuberta/EPA

Bogolyubovo, Russia
A woman walks through snow in front of the 12th-century Church of the Intercession on the Nerl outside the city of Vladimir, about 125 miles from Moscow
Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Gateshead, UK
The Angel of the North sculpture receives a dusting of snow
Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
Market Closes for March 9^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32254.86	-543.54
		-1.66%
S&P 500	3918.32	-73.69
		-1.85%
NASDAQ	11338.36	-237.64
		-2.05%
TSX	20086.72	-259.81
		-1.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28623.15	+178.96
		+0.63%
HANG SENG	19925.74	-125.51
		-0.63%
SENSEX	59806.28	-541.81
		-0.90%
FTSE 100*	7879.98	-49.94
		-0.63%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.157		3.260
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.036		3.109
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9052		3.9873
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.8548		3.8877

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7233	0.7244
US $	1.3826	1.3805
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4629	0.6836
US  $	1.0582	0.9450

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1816.30	1826.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	75.72	76.66

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 5000 for the first time.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.3% at 20,086.72 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest loss since Feb. 21 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as all sectors lost; 187 of 236 shares fell, while 42 rose.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.8%.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. had the largest drop, falling 14.1%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3.6%
* So far this week, the index fell 2.4%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Dec. 16
* The index declined 6.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 9.2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.6% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 12.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.2% in the past 5 days and fell 2.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 on a trailing basis and 13.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.25
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.29% compared with 8.70% in the previous session and the average of 8.10% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -114.4116| -1.8| 1/27
Materials | -40.2618| -1.7| 12/36
Industrials | -28.6477| -1.0| 4/22
Energy | -21.0123| -0.6| 12/24
Communication Services| -16.3879| -1.7| 0/6
Consumer Discretionary| -12.1961| -1.7| 3/12
Consumer Staples | -10.5482| -1.2| 0/11
Information Technology| -8.4849| -0.7| 5/9
Utilities | -6.7331| -0.8| 3/13
Real Estate | -5.1825| -1.0| 2/20
Health Care | -1.6575| -2.1| 0/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -19.6900| -1.8| 82.8| -2.3
RBC | -16.0800| -1.2| -9.0| 6.4
CIBC | -15.9500| -4.2| 62.9| 7.4
Wheaton Precious Metals | 1.8430| 1.1| -18.7| 2.1
Cenovus Energy | 2.1020| 0.9| 7.2| -2.2
Constellation Software | 3.3440| 1.1| 53.7| 13.0
US
By Isabelle Lee, Peyton Forte and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — US stocks notched their worst day in two weeks after a rout in bank shares picked up steam on concerns pockets of trouble in the sector could portend broader dangers.
Treasuries rallied.
The S&P 500 fell to the lowest since Jan. 19 with financial companies in the index plunging more than 4%.
The KBW Bank Index, which includes regional lenders, plunged 7.7%.
Banks came under fire after Silvergate Capital Corp. collapsed overnight amid growing scrutiny in Washington.
SVB Financial Group plummeted by a record amount following a stock sale to shore up losses.
“Everybody has been concerned that higher interest rates will lead to higher defaults at some point in 2023, and this raises those questions even more,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.
Cryptocurrencies slid with Bitcoin falling the most since November amid Silvergate’s meltdown.
“Banks and semis are two groups that historically have been very good leading indicators. Typically, markets can do OK if either of them are languishing, but when one of them is having an outsized move it’s usually wise to listen,” said Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG. “In this case, the outsized move is clearly banks to the downside.”
Stocks erased early session gains after Thursday’s data showed weekly jobless claims had risen to 211,000 during the week ending March 4, ahead of expectations for 195,000 and marking the first time claims surpassed 200,000 since early January.
“This is a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe the US labor market isn’t quite as tight as the other data points are saying,” Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, said by phone. “This is a preshow before the main
event.”
The numbers set the stage for Friday’s monthly jobs report, with even just slightly stronger-than-forecast figures expected to cement bets for a bigger hike at the March 21-22 Fed meeting.
Economists project a 225,000 increase in February payrolls, about half January’s blockbuster pace, but a figure in that range would confirm the US economy continues to add jobs at a strong rate.
A softer-than expected number could soften wagers on a half-point move in March, and tilt expectations back to a quarter-point hike.
“The market had to do a pretty quick job of repricing higher rate expectations from the Fed after a couple of days of Chair Powell’s testimony on Capitol Hill,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “We now become data-dependent until the Fed meets.”
Two-year yields’ premium over their 10-year equivalent narrowed to around 97 basis points, having surpassed 110 basis points earlier this week.
The inversion is considered a reliable recession harbinger.
Key events this week:
* Bank of Japan policy rate decision, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, monthly budget statement, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.8% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0580
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.1919
* The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 136.14 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 8.2% to $20,208.79
* Ether fell 8.2% to $1,425.02
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 3.92%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.64%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.80%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $75.56 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.9% to $1,834.90 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Make each day your masterpiece. -John Wooden, 1910-2010.

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: International Women’s Day.

March 8, 1971: Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali by decision at Madison Square Garden in New York in the first of three bouts between the heavyweights. Go to article » 

1913: US income tax begins.
1917: Russian Revolution begins.

What it’s like to drive Ferrari’s $393,000 SUV.

New York, London top list of cities with the most super-rich homeowners.

What to know about Holi, the festival of colors.  Millions of people in India and around the world are celebrating Holi this week. Learn about the Hindu festival and its signature traditions!

Couple jailed for stealing $1.7 million of wine from restaurant.  The pair of thieves made several pour decisions… here’s what we know about the heist.

The Oscars are this weekend.  And host Jimmy Kimmel said he’s ready for anything — even another slap.

Bronze Age ice skates with bone blades discovered in China: Archaeologists in China have unearthed 3,500-year-old ice skates crafted from animal bone in the country’s western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a mountainous area that some archaeologists think was the birthplace of skiing.
These ice skates, the oldest ever found in China, were made from the bones of oxen and horses. Full Story: Live Science (3/7)

Newfound ancient Egyptian sphinx statue may depict Roman emperor Claudius, but not everyone agrees: Archaeologists excavating an ancient temple in Egypt have unearthed a statue of a sphinx whose face may depict the Roman emperor Claudius, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement Monday (March 6).
However, scholars not affiliated with the research told Live Science that they cannot be certain the face is that of Claudius. Full Story: Live Science (3/7)

Ghostly scraps of oldest recorded supernova revealed in stunning telescope image: The shredded remnants of the first supernova ever recorded by humans — which appeared in the sky more than 1,800 years ago and vanished within eight months — rise from the cosmic grave in a stunning new image from the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab.
Tinged blood red and swirling around an invisible center of mass, the ghostly clouds of gas are thought to be the last scraps of a star that exploded so brightly and violently that the blast was visible in Earth’s nighttime skies for nearly a year in A.D. 185.  Full Story: Live Science (3/7)

Galaxy-size shock waves found rattling the cosmic web – the largest structure in the universe: For the first time, astronomers have spotted enormous, galaxy-scale shock waves rattling the “cosmic web” that connects nearly all known galaxies.
These cosmic waves could reveal clues about how the largest objects in the universe were sculpted. Full Story: Live Science (3/7)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

London, UK
Research into clothing patents stretching back over 200 years, funded by the European Research Council at Goldsmiths, University of London, has revealed a hidden history of women’s sport. As part of the project, a selection of active and sportswear patents from the 1890s to the 1940s were recreated by the sewing sociologist Dr Katrina Jungnickel and her team at the Politics of Patents project
Photograph: Goldsmiths/PA

Manchester, UK
The Flying Scotsman, which is being operated by an all-female footplate team to mark International Women’s Day, passes over the River Irwell at Ramsbottom. The crew is made up of three volunteers from the East Lancashire Railway – Linda Henderson, Charlotte Instance and Steph Elwood – who are accompanied by driver Beth Furness from Network Rail
Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Kabul, Afghanistan
Women campaign for their rights on International Women’s Day
Photograph: AFP/Getty
Market Closes for March 8^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32798.40	-58.06
		-0.18%
S&P 500	3992.01	+5.64
		+0.14%
NASDAQ	11576.00	+45.67
		+0.40%
TSX	20346.53	+70.99
		+0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28444.19	+135.03
		+0.48%
HANG SENG	20051.25	-483.23
		-2.35%
SENSEX	60348.09	+123.63
		+0.21%
FTSE 100*	7929.92	+10.44
		+0.13%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.260		3.318
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.109		3.170
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9873		3.9637
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.8877		3.8721

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7244	0.7273
US $	1.3805	1.3751
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4554	0.6871
US  $	1.0543	0.9485

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1826.55	1849.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.66	77.58

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1817: The New York Stock & Exchange Board, the ancestor of the NYSE, was formed when 24 brokers agreed on a “Constitution” that fixed commissions at 0.25% and set a fine of at least six cents for talking out loud about other subjects while stocks were being traded.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.4% at 20,346.53
in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of
1.2%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain,
increasing 3.2%. Ecn Capital Corp. had the largest increase,
rising 16.6%.
Today, 132 of 236 shares rose, while 96 fell; 6 of 11
sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5%
* The index declined 4.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 5.1% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.4% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4% in the past 5 days and fell 1.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.1 on a trailing basis and 13.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.24t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.70% compared with 8.62% in the previous session and the average of 8.08% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 27.3430| 2.2| 14/0
Industrials | 14.7619| 0.5| 20/6
Materials | 11.5738| 0.5| 22/28
Energy | 7.5195| 0.2| 20/15
Utilities | 5.7916| 0.7| 13/2
Financials | 2.6987| 0.0| 16/12
Real Estate | -0.0759| 0.0| 11/11
Communication Services | -0.3250| 0.0| 3/3
Consumer Staples | -0.6701| -0.1| 5/6
Health Care | -0.7177| -0.9| 2/4
Consumer Discretionary | -2.6222| -0.4| 6/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 15.2200| 3.2| -23.8| 28.2
Nutrien | 9.7090| 2.5| -10.1| 13.4
Constellation Software | 9.6890| 3.2| -31.7| 11.8
Bank of Montreal | -2.6250| -0.4| -18.3| 3.8
Sun Life Financial | -2.7150| -1.0| -54.4| 5.9
Bank of Nova Scotia | -2.7180| -0.5| -27.0| 3.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street didn’t get much relief from Jerome Powell’s testimony to American lawmakers — especially after another round of jobs figures came on the hot side, bolstering bets the Federal Reserve will have no alternative but remain hawkish in the months to come.
Equities whipsawed even after the Fed chief’s reassurance that no decision has been made on the size of a rate increase in March and the central bank isn’t seeking to cause a recession.
For one, Powell reiterated that officials are likely to take rates higher than previously anticipated, and could move at a faster pace if needed.
Then, there’s all the anxiety building ahead of the next economic readings.
Policymakers will scrutinize Friday’s jobs report for three key indicators: payrolls, wage gains and the unemployment rate.
If they all point to a robust labor market — perhaps even just slightly stronger than forecast — that will be a green light to a bigger hike, likely reducing suspense in the inflation reports due next week.
“The Fed has been very consistent in that ‘if inflation continues to be higher, we’re going to hike more’,” said Kara Murphy at Kestra Investment Management. “And now the market is acting surprised. I’ve likened it a little bit to when it’s bedtime at my house and I’m telling the kids, ‘it’s bedtime,’ and I tell them three times and they don’t listen to me. And then suddenly the fourth time they’re like ‘oh, I’ve got to get my pj’s on.’”
After a series of small twists and turns, the S&P 500 finished up by just 0.1%, while remaining below the 4,000 level.
The gauge is still trading above its key 200-day moving average — a threshold that has been vigorously defended by traders.
Bonds also saw some choppy action on Wednesday, with the two-year yield remaining above 5% — its highest since 2007.
Bets among swap traders were solidly tilted toward a half-point move in March rather than a quarter-point.
It’s proving quite difficult to budge Treasury investors from the turbocharged curve shift that’s gripped markets — with yields on shorter-term US securities continuing to rise faster than longer-maturity peers — as traders double down on the prospects for a US recession.
To James Demmert at Main Street Research, the market is finally coming to the realization that elevated interest rates are here to stay and the idea of a Fed pivot anytime soon is wishful thinking.
“The Fed may be much more determined to raise rates,” Demmert added. “At the same time, the lag effect of rising rates over the past year may be slowing the economy.
The risk of a recession has now increased in recent weeks, as the lag effect from the Fed’s tightening may soon start to show up in the data, just as the Fed has doubled down on raising interest rates.
This combination of a weakening economy and more rate hikes would surely push the economy into a recession.”
The economy proved resilient to start the new year, marked by steady consumer spending and stabilizing manufacturing activity, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book.
However, the outlook going forward is less optimistic.
“Amid heightened uncertainty, contacts did not expect economic conditions to improve much in the months ahead.”
Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the central bank needs to continue to raise rates, without giving an opinion on the size of the hike planned later this month. “We’ve seen some progress but at 5.5% inflation remains well above the Fed 2% target, and as a result we’ve made clear we still have work to do.”
Citigroup Inc. economists see the Fed raising its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points at the March meeting, joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in lifting their forecast.
They increased the estimate from 25 basis points, and also boosted their projection for peak rates to a range of 5.5% to 5.75%.
Amid ever-changing macro data that’s dimming visibility into future cash flows, Wall Street analysts have been busy revisiting their corporate earnings views.
The bottoms-up consensus currently sees S&P 500 earnings per share coming in at $220 this year compared with $222 in 2022.
And for all the criticism that the estimate should go down more, analysts are moving very quickly compared with recent history.
From June 2022 to now, analysts have slashed their 2023 EPS estimates by 12%, on pace for the sharpest decline in full-year outlooks since 2010, data compiled by RBC Capital Markets show.
“Analysts’ estimates have come down a lot, possibly setting the market up for some pleasant surprises,” Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, said in a note to clients. “If those fail to materialize, we are looking at another wave of reductions in earnings estimates, and no amount of sector rotation performance chasing will fill the hole left by that issue.”
Key events this week:
* Canada rate decision, Wednesday
* EIA crude oil inventories, Wednesday
* China CPI, PPI, Thursday
* US Challenger job cuts, initial jobless claims, household change in net worth, Thursday
* Bank of Japan policy rate decision, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, monthly budget statement, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0548
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.1848
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 137.25 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $22,093.4
* Ether rose 0.6% to $1,559.44
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.98%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 3.77%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $76.51 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Vildana Hajric and Elena Popina.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’s certainty. –Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936.

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 Monday.
March 6, 1836: Fall of the Alamo.
March 6, 1899: Bayer registers “Aspirin” (acetylsalicylic acid) as  a trademark.

2004: Martha Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she’d unloaded her Imclone Systems Inc. stock just before the price plummeted.  Go to article » 

Michelangelo, artist, b.1475.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet, b.1806.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author, b. 1928.
Shaquille O’Neal, basketball player. b.1972.

World’s 1st horseback riders swept across Europe roughly 5,000 years ago
Archaeologists accidentally discovered the world’s earliest horseback riders while studying skeletons found beneath 5,000-year-old burial mounds in Europe and Asia, a new study finds.
The ancient riders were part of the Yamnaya culture, groups of semi-nomadic people who swept across Europe and western Asia, bringing the precursor to the Indo-European language family with them.
Full Story: Live Science (3/3)

Bright new comet discovered zooming toward the sun could outshine the stars next year
A newly discovered comet may appear as bright as a star in the night sky by fall 2024.
The comet, known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), was first noted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope project in South Africa on Feb. 22.  Full Story: Live Science (3/4)

Painting recovered by Holocaust victims’ heirs sets auction record: A Kandinsky painting that once belonged to victims of the Nazi Holocaust has sold for nearly $45 million.

99% of people got this trivia question wrong: Ready to test your knowledge? See if you can answer some of the most challenging questions from the live mobile game HQ Trivia. Take the quiz here.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mana Pools, Zimbabwe
Danger in the mud, the winner in the category of animal portraits at the World Nature Photography awards
Photograph: Jens Cullmann/World Nature Photography Awards 2022

California, US
Guests attend AlienCon 2023 at the Pasadena Convention Center
Photograph: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for A+E Networks

Kathmandu, Nepal
A man celebrating Holi, the festival of colours
Photograph: Monika Malla/Reuters
Market Closes for March 6^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33431.44	+40.47
		+0.12%
S&P 500	4048.42	+2.78
		+0.07%
NASDAQ	11675.74	-13.27
		-0.11%
TSX	20514.80	-66.78
		-0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28237.78	+310.31
		+1.11%
HANG SENG	20603.19	+35.65
		+0.17%
SENSEX	60224.46	+415.49
		+0.69%
FTSE 100*	7929.79	-17.32
		-0.22%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.353		3.344
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.211		3.194
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9577		3.9556
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.8932		3.8739

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7346	0.7354
US $	1.3613	1.3598
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4539	0.6878
US  $	1.0680	0.9363

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1841.15	1836.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	80.46	79.68

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave an optimistic speech on the “Revolution in Information Technology.” Just four days later, the Nasdaq peaked and began tumbling in the worst market crash to that point since 1929.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3% at 20,514.80 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.3% on Feb. 21 and follows the previous session’s increase of 1.2%.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.1%. Secure Energy Services Inc. had the largest drop, falling 19.6%.
Today, 150 of 236 shares fell, while 82 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5.8%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2021
* The index declined 4.1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 7.2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.6% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 14.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3% in the past 5 days and fell 0.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.29t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.90% compared with 8.06% in the previous session and the average of 8.19% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -34.8756| -1.4| 4/44
Energy | -21.7803| -0.6| 11/28
Information Technology | -10.3434| -0.8| 5/9
Industrials | -8.0583| -0.3| 13/13
Financials | -2.5272| 0.0| 12/17
Health Care | -1.4102| -1.8| 2/5
Consumer Staples | 0.0730| 0.0| 5/6
Consumer Discretionary | 0.2131| 0.0| 5/10
Real Estate | 0.4962| 0.1| 12/9
Communication Services | 2.2790| 0.2| 3/3
Utilities | 3.4356| 0.4| 10/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move|% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific | -7.3950| -1.1| -50.7| 4.7
Nutrien | -7.1200| -1.8| -16.5| 11.9
Brookfield Corp | -6.5160| -1.4| -32.8| 7.2
Brookfield Infrastructure | 2.7230| 1.9| 48.5| 11.2
Waste Connections | 3.6980| 1.1| -4.9| 2.7
RBC | 4.4280| 0.3| -32.9| 7.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market failed to gain much traction Monday on speculation that a recent rally has probably gotten overdone as economic risks linger.
It’s not that investors were brimming with confidence at the start of trading, but the S&P 500 managed to climb almost 1% at one point.
Those gains, which followed the best week for equities in a month, waned throughout the session — with a rise in Treasury yields bringing an additional layer of pressure.
To Michael Wilson at Morgan Stanley, while technical factors could give some support to equities in the near term, the “bear-market rally” wouldn’t last long as fundamentals continue to deteriorate.
So basically the recent market action could be seen as the “calm before the storm,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide.
Four major events between now and the Federal Reserve’s March 22 decision will be the key catalysts in determining whether the 2023 revival in equities gets derailed or starts rolling again after a February slump.
“Traders are still anticipating a 25 basis-point hike in a few weeks, and investors should prepare for volatility if the jobs read surprises in either direction — especially as some Fed officials have indicated a 50 basis-point hike remains on the table,” said Chris Larkin, managing director at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
Before the pivotal jobs report Friday, a double-day dose of Fed Chair Powell before Congress will set expectations for the next policy meeting later this month.
Krishna Guha at Evercore said Powell will possibly emphasize the notable resilience of the economy and indications that the process of returning inflation to its target will be lengthy and bumpy.
However, Powell will not turn “max hawkish” or fuel speculation of a 50 basis-point hike, Guha noted.
“This would not present any need to shift market rate pricing higher,” he added.
The stock and the credit markets are telegraphing a message of caution on how global financial assets and the economy may evolve.
The spread between BBB rated dollar-denominated corporate debt and the earnings available on the S&P 500 is now above zero for the first time since the global financial crisis.
The differential is typically negative, reflecting the higher risk of capital that is invested in equities even as corporate bond yields stay elevated.
However, when speculative money flocks into equities, it turns positive, suggesting that investors may be overlooking the risk embedded in stocks.
Key events this week:
* US wholesale inventories, consumer credit, Tuesday
* Fed Powell’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee, Tuesday
* Australia rate decision, Tuesday
* Euro area GDP, Wednesday
* US MBA mortgage applications, ADP employment change, trade balance, JOLTS job openings, Wednesday
* Fed Chair Powell’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the House Financial Services Committee, Wednesday
* Canada rate decision, Wednesday
* EIA crude oil inventories, Wednesday
* China CPI, PPI, Thursday
* US Challenger job cuts, initial jobless claims, household change in net worth, Thursday
* Bank of Japan policy rate decision, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, monthly budget statement, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0677
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2019
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 135.99 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $22,350.68
* Ether fell 0.7% to $1,560.95
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.98%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.75%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.87%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $80.59 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,852.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Isabelle Lee, Angel Adegbesan, Peyton Forte and Ven Ram.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen. –Wayne Huizenga, 1937-2018.

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.
March 3, 2005: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
On March 3, 1991: in a case that sparked a national outcry, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video.   Go to article » 

1805: Louisiana/Missouri Territory formed.
1955: Elvis Presley’s first TV appearance.

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor, b. 1847.
Ring Lardner Sr., writer, b.1885.

‘Creed III’ premieres in US theaters today.  Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors bring heavyweight talent to the latest chapter in the “Rocky” franchise.

Leading soccer figures raise more than $44 million in a single day for Turkey quake victims.  These famous soccer players are putting their rivalries aside to raise money for the victims of last month’s devastating earthquake in Turkey.

Want to avoid an early death? A brisk 11-minute walk every day may help.
Yosemite National Park is closed indefinitely as snow depth rises to a 54-year high.

Cosmic rays reveal ‘hidden’ 30-foot-long corridor in Egypt’s Great Pyramid: Cosmic rays and photos from an endoscope have revealed a “hidden” corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Giza’s north face, above the pyramid’s ancient entrance, new research finds.  The new study reveals that, just above the ancient entrance to the pyramid, there is likely a horizontal chamber that runs for 30 feet (9 meters) in length and is 6.6 feet by 6.6 feet (2 by 2 m) in width and height. Full Story: Live Science (3/2)

Stunning gem-covered gold earrings discovered in 800-year-old hoard in Germany: A trainee metal detectorist in northern Germany recently hit on something his mentor never expected: an 800-year-old hoard of gold jewelry and silver coins that hints at the area’s trade connections.
The large hoard contained a dazzling collection of artifacts.  Full Story: Live Science (3/2)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Paris, France
Dancers wearing Louboutin shoes perform on the sidelines of the Paris fashion week at the Opéra Comique
Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

The week in wildlife
A fox among blooming daffodils on the banks of the Dodder River in Dublin, Ireland
Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

The week in wildlife
A white-eye bird is seen on early-flowering cherry blossoms in full bloom at a park in Tokyo, Japan
Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters
Market Closes for March 3^rd, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33390.97	+387.40
		+1.17%
S&P 500	4045.64	+64.29
		+1.61%
NASDAQ	11689.01	+226.03
		+1.97%
TSX	20581.58	+244.37
		+1.20%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27927.47	+428.60
		+1.56%
HANG SENG	20567.54	+138.08
		+0.68%
SENSEX	59808.97	+899.62
		+1.53%
FTSE 100*	7947.11	+3.07
		+0.04%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.344		3.474
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.194		3.323
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9556		4.0556
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.8739		3.9935

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7354	0.7363
US $	1.3598	1.3582
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4470	0.6911
US  $	1.0639	0.9399

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1836.20	1841.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	79.68	78.16

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1901, John Pierpont Morgan announced that he was organizing the largest-ever corporation in the world by merging his Federal Steel conglomerate with Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Co.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 1.2%, or 244.37 to 20,581.58 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.6% on Jan. 6.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 207 of 236 shares rose, while 26 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.4%.
Park Lawn Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.6%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 6.2%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2021
* So far this week, the index rose 1.8%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Jan. 13
* The index declined 3.1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 8% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.3% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 15.2% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.9 on a trailing basis and 13.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.25t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.06% compared with 7.59% in the previous session and the average of 8.32% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 59.8494| 0.9| 23/6
Energy | 49.0973| 1.4| 35/4
Materials | 36.0450| 1.5| 49/1
Information Technology | 30.4786| 2.4| 13/1
Industrials | 20.5648| 0.8| 22/3
Utilities | 11.4883| 1.3| 15/0
Consumer Staples | 11.3321| 1.3| 8/3
Communication Services | 8.0111| 0.8| 4/2
Consumer Discretionary | 6.6498| 0.9| 12/3
Real Estate | 4.0793| 0.8| 20/2
Health Care | 1.0701| 1.4| 6/1
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 24.8500| 5.4| -17.9| 25.5
Canadian Natural Resources | 13.0100| 2.1| 88.2| 8.9
Brookfield Corp | 10.9600| 2.5| -14.7| 8.8
George Weston | -0.4510| -0.6| 61.5| -0.6
Great-West Lifeco | -0.4860| -0.7| 23.6| 16.7
Fairfax Financial | -1.1540| -0.8| -58.6| 16.3
US
By Denitsa Tsekova and Alice Atkins
(Bloomberg) — US stocks ended the week on a high note driven by speculation that the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates beyond peak levels already priced in.
A rally in the S&P 500 Friday helped snap a three-week losing streak.
The Nasdaq 100 scored its best day since early February.
Sentiment remained upbeat despite a report showing resilience in the service sector as some investors wagered the impact of the Fed’s hikes on the economy would be delayed.
A measure of prices paid by service providers showed costs rising at a slower pace, which was cheered by traders.
Bond yields rose for the week though Treasuries richened in a Friday rally, with the 10-year yield hovering around 3.96%.
A benchmark of the dollar had its worst week since mid-January, ending four consecutive weeks of gains.
All eyes will be on the non-farm payrolls report next week for clues on whether the economy can handle more rate hikes.
Data this week showed continued labor-market resilience in the US, supporting the case for the Fed to stick to its tightening policy, a theme that had pushed almost every major asset into the red in February.
But investors were heartened after Atlanta Fed’s Raphael Bostic said on Thursday that the central bank could possibly pause its rate hikes sometime this summer.
Traders interpreted his comments as dovish, even though Bostic and his colleagues said decisions would continue to be data dependent and a Fed report on Friday emphasized that further rate increases are in store.
Traders are still optimistic because even the most hawkish Fed officials haven’t suggested that rates could need to go beyond levels already baked in, said Priya Misra, global head of rates strategy at TD Securities.
Swap markets have been pricing a peak Fed policy rate of 5.5% in September.
“I think they stay at 5.5% and we have to see how data evolves in the second quarter,” she said on Bloomberg Television.
Misra also added that robust data doesn’t mean the Fed’s persistent tightening isn’t working.
“It takes a long time,” she said. “Policy only turned restrictive last year.”
Risk sentiment also received a boost on Friday from forecast-beating factory data from China.
Oil gained for the fourth day, with confidence in China’s robust rebound supporting prices. 
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0634
* The British pound rose 0.8% to $1.2041
* The Japanese yen rose 0.7% to 135.85 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.8% to $22,296.29
* Ether fell 5% to $1,558.57
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 10 basis points to 3.96%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.72%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 3.85%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $79.74 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1.1% to $1,861.30 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Sujata Rao and Peyton Forte.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Honor is simply the morality of superior men. -H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956.

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 Eve.

March 2, 1903: In New York City, the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
March 2, 1962: Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks, an NBA record that still stands.  Go to article » 

1899: Mount Ranier National Park established.
1925: Highway numbers introduced.

Theodore Geisel, “Dr. Seuss”, b.1904.

Ex-Navy pilot says he saw UFOs that did things his plane could not do.  Watch this former Navy fighter pilot tell CNN about his unit’s experience with a UFO in 2015. He also shared video of the encounter.

Guy Savoy, lauded as world’s best chef, loses Michelin star.  His renowned restaurant in Paris received some sour news that it’s been downgraded to two Michelin stars.

Japan just found 7,000 islands it didn’t know it had.  With an incredible discovery like this, it’s no shocker that several territorial disputes are already underway.

‘Stranger Things’ is coming back — as a stage play.  Nerds, assemble! Fans bracing themselves to say goodbye to “Stranger Things” after its final season are getting excited about this London stage play

The Great Pyramid of Giza has a hidden corridor.

‘Unreal’ auroras cover Earth in stunning photo taken by NASA astronaut: When seen from Earth, auroras are nothing short of dazzling. But it takes an astronaut’s-eye view to truly appreciate how vast and spectacular these light shows really are.
“Absolutely unreal,” NASA astronaut Josh Cassada tweeted Feb. 28 alongside a gorgeous photo of green auroras swirling around Earth’s far northern latitudes. Cassada snapped the image from the International Space Station, which orbits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) over Earth on average. Full Story: Live Science (3/1)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

New Delhi, India
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, inspects a guard of honour during her ceremonial reception at the forecourt of India’s presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhavan
Photograph: Altaf Hussain/Reuters

Los Angeles, US
The Hollywood sign stands in front of snow-covered mountains after another winter storm hit southern California
Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Copenhagen, Denmark
The Little Mermaid sculpture, an emblem of Copenhagen and Denmark, has been vandalised with the addition of a painted Russian flag
Photograph: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 2^nd, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33003.57	+341.73
		+1.05%
S&P 500	3981.35	+29.96
		+0.76 %
NASDAQ	11462.98	+83.50
		+0.73%
TSX	20337.21	+77.43
		+0.38%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27498.87	-17.66
		-0.06%
HANG SENG	20429.46	-190.25
		-0.92%
SENSEX	58909.35	-501.73
		-0.84%
FTSE 100*	7944.04	+29.11
		+0.37%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.474		3.409
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.323		3.266
U.S.    10 Year Bond		4.0556		3.9925
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.9935		3.9570

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7363	0.7358
US $	1.3581	1.3591
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4412	0.6939
US  $	1.0610	0.9425

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1841.25	1824.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.16	77.69

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1844, the New York Stock Exchange raised the initiation fee for new members to $400 (or well over $10,000 in modern money).
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.4%, or 77.43 to 20,337.21 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest gain since Feb. 13.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%. Kinaxis Inc. had the largest increase, rising 5.3%.
Today, 112 of 236 shares rose, while 117 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.9%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Jan. 27
* The index declined 4.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.4% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7% in the past 5 days and fell 1.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.8 on a trailing basis and 13.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.24t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.59% compared with 7.52% in the previous session and the average of 8.46% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 38.7386| 1.1| 25/12
Industrials | 27.3242| 1.0| 14/11
Materials | 18.3997| 0.8| 16/33
Information Technology | 11.0517| 0.9| 11/3
Utilities | 2.8005| 0.3| 10/5
Real Estate | -0.4312| -0.1| 11/10
Health Care | -0.4534| -0.6| 2/5
Consumer Discretionary | -1.3187| -0.2| 8/7
Consumer Staples | -2.5916| -0.3| 3/8
Communication Services | -4.2655| -0.4| 2/4
Financials | -17.5140| -0.3| 10/19
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | 24.9300| 1.9| -9.7| 7.0
Nutrien | 19.1300| 5.0| 32.6| 13.5
Canadian National | 12.6600| 1.9| 29.1| -0.4
Tourmaline Oil | -6.5850| -4.8| 84.6| -10.6
Bank of Montreal | -8.7030| -1.4| -34.7| 4.9
TD Bank | -27.6000| -2.4| 65.2| 0.9
US
By Vildana Hajric and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — US stocks closed Thursday’s session higher, reversing course after Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the central bank could be in a position to pause rate hikes sometime this summer. Treasuries dropped, with yields across the curve piercing 4%.
Traders ditched their low-conviction moves toward the middle of the trading day, pushing the S&P 500 to jump the most in more than two weeks.
The Nasdaq 100 also jumped as investors considered Bostic’s comments somewhat dovish.
Both indexes shrugged off the losses they suffered earlier after data signaled continued resilience in the labor market, supporting the case for the Fed to keep raising rates.
The policy-sensitive two-year rate climbed for a third straight day, its longest rising streak in two weeks.
A dollar index clung onto gains.
While Bostic’s remarks boosted sentiment on Thursday, other central-bank officials in recent days have reinforced their hawkish rhetoric.
Bostic too pledged to let the incoming economic data guide him, a stance shared by Boston Fed’s Susan Collins.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller also said that he’ll support raising rates even more than his current outlook if payroll and inflation data don’t cool as expected.
The focus now is on how much higher interest rates might go in the US and Europe, with swaps markets pricing a peak Fed policy rate of 5.5% in September, and some traders even betting that the benchmark interest rate could rise to 6%.
“Markets are now appropriately pricing in higher inflation and the impact higher interest rates will have on the economy,” said David Spika, president and chief investment officer of GuideStone Capital Management. “So what we saw in January and really going back to October was the markets were incorrectly interpreting a pivot, lower inflation, the Fed was going to stop raising rates, a soft landing — all of that was misguided and now the market is accurately pricing in, alright, the Fed is going to have to keep raising rates.”
Earnings continued to trickle in on Thursday.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. rose in late trading after giving a strong forecast for the current quarter.
One of the world’s biggest chipmakers, Broadcom Inc., presented a robust forecast while Nordstrom Inc. boosted its outlook for annual profit.
Silvergate Capital Corp. ended Thursday’s session at a record low as it raised questions about its own survival.
Investors should expect data to continue to be mixed even as inflation comes down, according to Chris Harvey, Wells Fargo’s head of equity strategy.
“We’re in a good situation where the economy has not cracked,” he said on Bloomberg Television. “Ultimately we are going to get to a lower level of inflation, but 2% I think is more aspirational than anything else.”
Sarah Hunt of Alpine Woods Capital Investors also said that some of the impact of the Fed’s persistent rate hikes may not be seen just yet.
“I do think that there are parts of the economy for which those changes don’t happen so quickly,” she said on Bloomberg Television. “Wall Street is so used to focusing on the quarters that we lose sight of the fact that wage negotiations don’t happen every time the Fed changes rates, it happens once a year or once every couple of years depending on the industry.”
Meanwhile, data on Thursday also showed euro-area inflation slowed by less than anticipated and underlying price pressures surged to a new record, heaping pressure on the European Central Bank to drive up rates further.
ECB interest rates are now seen rising above 4% and German benchmark bond yields traded above 2.7%. 
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.0599
* The British pound fell 0.7% to $1.1950
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 136.74 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $23,455.9
* Ether fell 0.8% to $1,644.63
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 4.06%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.75%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.88%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $77.96 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,842.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Cecile Gutscher, Sujata Rao, Isabelle Lee and Alice Atkins.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. –Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, 1918-2013.

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:
March 1, 1998: Titanic becomes the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
1974: Former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.  Go to article » 

1872: Yellowstone National Park established.
1961: Peace Corps established

11 minutes of daily exercise could have a positive impact on your health.  Too busy to fit a full workout into your day? A new study shows just 11 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous daily activity can lower your risk of diseases.

Ancient Roman ‘spike defenses’ made famous by Julius Caesar found in Germany
In 52 B.C., Julius Caesar used an ingenious system of ditches and stakes to defend his soldiers from an encroaching Gallic army in modern-day central France.
More than two millennia later, archaeologists have discovered the first preserved example of similar defensive stakes, which likely protected an ancient silver mine. Full Story: Live Science (2/28)

Jupiter and Venus ‘kiss’ in a stunning planetary conjunction tonight. Here’s how to watch.
On Wednesday (March 1) and Thursday (March 2), two bright planets will appear as if they were about to collide in the night sky.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, and Venus, one of the brightest objects in Earth’s sky, will come within about half a degree of each other — or roughly one full moon’s width apart. Full Story: Live Science (3/1)

Otherworldly ‘fairy lantern’ plant, presumed extinct, emerges from forest floor in Japan
Scientists in Japan have rediscovered an extremely rare species of parasitic “fairy lantern” that was presumed to be extinct. The mysterious plant, Thismia kobensis, belongs to a rarely seen, fungus-sapping genus. The plants grow underground without photosynthesis yet send translucent flowers to sprout like ghostly lanterns from the forest floor. Full Story: Live Science (2/28)

Man lost at sea survives on ketchup. -Mark Gilbert
Wait, is King Charles evicting Harry and Meghan?

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Planica, Slovenia
Japan’s Yoshito Watabe in action at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Photograph: Borut Živulovič/Reuters

Dubai, UAE
The artist Refik Anadol launches Glacier Dreams, an immersive installation, at Art Dubai 2023
Photograph: Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Art Dubai

Tokyo, Japan
A white-eye bird on early-flowering cherry blossoms in full bloom
Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters
Market Closes for March 1^st, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32661.84	+5.14
		+0.02%
S&P 500	3951.39	-18.76
		-0.47 %
NASDAQ	11379.48	-76.06
		-0.66%
TSX	20259.78	+38.59
		+0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27516.53	+70.97
		+0.26%
HANG SENG	20619.71	+833.77
		+4.21%
SENSEX	59411.08	+448.96
		+0.76%
FTSE 100*	7914.93	+38.65
		+0.49%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.409		3.330
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.266		3.201
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9925		3.9239
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.9570		3.9189

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7358	0.7329
US $	1.3591	1.3645
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4497	0.6898
US  $	1.0666	0.9376

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1824.60	1818.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	77.69	77.05

Market Commentary:
📈 On March 1, 1935, the first U.S. savings bond (Series A) was issued after Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau observed that the U.S. lacked a government savings plan like those of France and Britain.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2% at 20,259.78 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1%.
Capstone Copper Corp. had the largest increase, rising 7.1%.
Today, 141 of 236 shares rose, while 92 fell; 3 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.5%
* The index declined 3.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 9.1% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.8% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and fell 2.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.52% compared with 7.57% in the previous session and the average of 8.63% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 58.3986| 1.7| 39/0
Materials | 49.7265| 2.1| 48/2
Industrials | 9.2223| 0.3| 13/13
Health Care | -1.8201| -2.3| 1/6
Communication Services | -3.9434| -0.4| 1/5
Consumer Discretionary | -4.5559| -0.6| 5/10
Consumer Staples | -4.8738| -0.6| 6/5
Real Estate | -5.6830| -1.1| 1/20
Utilities | -6.3567| -0.7| 5/11
Information Technology | -28.4769| -2.3| 6/8
Financials | -28.7648| -0.4| 16/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | 12.5500| 2.1| 48.0| 4.7
Franco-Nevada | 10.3000| 4.5| 49.7| -1.4
Bank of Nova Scotia | 8.2360| 1.5| 90.4| 3.2
Constellation Software | -8.2680| -2.6| -25.8| 10.4
Shopify | -13.4900| -2.9| -23.9| 16.0
RBC | -47.3600| -3.6| 44.0| 5.0
US
By Peyton Forte, Angel Adegbesan and Isabelle Lee (Bloomberg)
US stocks dropped for a second session as investors revisited their wagers on peak rates after economic data highlighted persistent inflationary pressures and Federal Reserve officials continued to sound hawkish.
The S&P 500 closed the day at its lowest level in nearly six weeks.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped to its lowest since January 30.
Both indexes stayed firmly in the red for most of the session after a gauge of manufacturing improved for the first time in six months.
Investors balked at prices-paid measures also rising.
Treasury yields remained higher, with the 10-year rate piercing the closely watched 4% level.
Fed swaps are now pricing in a peak policy rate of 5.5% in September, with some traders betting that the benchmark interest rate could reach 6%.
A dollar index the most since February 1.
Among individual movers, Salesforce Inc. soared in late trading after signaling that it’s making progress in its efforts to boost profitability this year.
Lowe’s Cos., after forecasting a decline in sales, fell the most since Sept. 13 during regular trading.
Dollar Tree Inc., which also reported earnings, climbed the most in a month.
Investors are awaiting updates on Tesla Inc.’s investor day.
Investors remained cautious on Wednesday after Fed officials reinforced their hawkish stance on Wednesday.
Atlanta Fed’s Raphael Bostic called for continued rate hikes to above 5% to make sure inflation doesn’t pick up again.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, meanwhile, said he’s concerned that there isn’t much of an indication that the central bank’s rate hikes are slowing down the services sector.
“The markets crossed the fine line between expectations and wishful thinking,” said Deborah Cunningham, senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes. “But investors checked that fantasy within the shortest month of the year. Indeed, change can come quickly after acceptance.”
Julian Emanuel, chief equity and quantitative strategist at Evercore ISI, says the VIX, a measure of volatility in stocks, hasn’t been the most reliable indicator of what’s happening in the markets recently.
“To say that the volatility markets have been strange for the last couple of months is maybe the understatement of the millennium here,” he said on Bloomberg Television. “And a lot of reason the truth is so difficult to discern is because of these zero-days to expiration options, which really are ruling the moves from moment to moment in the markets.”
He says the macro picture will become clearer in the coming weeks, depending on the incoming economic data.
While data showing China’s economy is on track for a stronger recovery had briefly buoyed US stock futures before markets opened, that bounce didn’t sustain during Wednesday’s trading session.
“This is a China story. This is not a global growth story,” Mike Wilson, chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, told Bloomberg Television. “So yes, it’s very good for China equities and maybe some Asian economies that can, that can gear off of that. But not so much the US stock market, which isn’t that geared to China growth.”
Bonds in Europe also fell as evidence mounted that further tightening is needed to tamp down on inflation.
The latest data showed an unexpected acceleration in German inflation in February, further complicating the European Central Bank’s task after overshoots this week in other parts of the continent.
A 4% ECB terminal rate is also now fully priced with rates forecast to rise through February 2024. 
Key events this week:
* Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Services PMI, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
* The euro rose 0.9% to $1.0666
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2019
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 136.20 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $23,399.5
* Ether rose 2.1% to $1,640.26
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 3.99%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.71%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 3.84%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $77.74 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,844.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Isabelle Lee and Alice Atkins.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
A problem is a chance for you to do your best. -Duke Ellington, 1899-1974.

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 28, 1953: Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes, at Cambridge University. Go to article » 

February 28, 1998: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.

Michel de Montaigne, writer, b.1553.
Bernadette Peters, actress, b.1948.

World’s best beaches for 2023, according to TripAdvisor.  Only one US beach made it on the top 10 list. Take a guess!

Spend 36 hours in Miami.

Scientists want to make AI with real brain cells.

Pilot makes a 360-degree turn to see the Northern Lights.

‘Microdiamonds’ discovered at French winery point to ancient meteor crater below the vines: A circular depression that holds a vineyard in a French winery is actually an old impact crater, new research finds.
The crater sits in the appropriately named Domaine du Météore winery near Cabrerolles in southern France. Full Story: Live Science (2/26)

Lab-grown minibrains will be used as ‘biological hardware’ to create new biocomputers, scientists propose: Lab-grown “minibrains” could someday be linked together to act as powerful and efficient biocomputers, scientists have suggested.
In a proposal published Feb 28. in the journal Frontiers in Science, a multidisciplinary group of researchers outlined their plans to transform 3D clumps of human brain cells, called brain organoids, into biological hardware capable of advanced computational tasks — a field they have named “organoid intelligence.” Full Story: Live Science (2/28)

What are ‘minibrains’? Everything to know about brain organoids: In the past decade, lab-grown blobs of human brain tissue began making news headlines, as they ushered in a new era of scientific discovery and raised a slew of ethical questions.
These blobs — scientifically known as brain organoids, but often called “minibrains” in the news — serve as miniature, simplified models of full-size human brains.  Full Story: Live Science (2/28)
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Katsura City, Japan
Japanese ornamental dolls (hina dolls) are displayed on the stone steps at Tomisaki shrine during the Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri festival
Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images

New Jersey, US
A person crosses a street during a snowfall
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Northern lights seen across the UK – in pictures
People watch the aurora borealis over the Hebrides in Scotland
Photograph: Hannah Close/PA
Market Closes for February 28^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32656.70	-232.39
		-0.71%
S&P 500	3970.15	-12.09
		-0.30 %
NASDAQ	11455.54	-11.44
		-0.10%
TSX	20221.19	-38.94
		-0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27445.56	+21.60
		+0.08%
HANG SENG	19785.94	-157.57
		-0.79%
SENSEX	58962.12	-326.23
		-0.55%
FTSE 100*	7876.28	-58.83
		-0.74%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.330		3.385
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.201		3.277
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9239		3.9160
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.9189		3.9263

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7329	0.7364
US $	1.3645	1.3580
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4434	0.6928
US  $	1.0579	0.9453

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1818.65	1810.95
Oil
WTI Crude Future	77.05	75.68

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1964, just under three years after breaking the 700 mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through 800 for the first time, closing at 800.14.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2% at 20,221.19 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Bank of Nova Scotia contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.7%.
Baytex Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.8%.
Today, 107 of 236 shares fell, while 126 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 2.6%
* The index declined 4.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.1% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and fell 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.57% compared with 7.63% in the previous session and the average of 8.99% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -37.4150| -1.1| 5/34
Financials | -26.7062| -0.4| 16/13
Industrials | -17.4196| -0.6| 13/12
Utilities | -6.3463| -0.7| 5/10
Real Estate | -0.7829| -0.1| 10/12
Consumer Staples | -0.3339| 0.0| 4/7
Communication Services | 0.3428| 0.0| 2/4
Health Care | 0.7790| 1.0| 5/2
Consumer Discretionary | 1.5645| 0.2| 11/4
Information Technology | 9.4447| 0.8| 10/4
Materials | 32.2416| 1.4| 45/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Bank of Nova Scotia| -33.6800| -5.7| 271.9| 1.7
Canadian National | -8.3700| -1.3| 133.6| -3.4
Canadian Pacific | -8.2310| -1.2| 11.6| 2.7
Manulife Financial | 5.3390| 1.5| 122.1| 11.7
First Quantum Minerals | 7.3280| 6.8| 123.2| 5.4
Shopify | 10.2000| 2.3| -15.9| 19.5
US
By Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped during the last stretch of Tuesday’s session and bonds pared earlier losses as investors rounded out a brutal month for both assets with low-conviction moves.
The S&P 500 suffered a February drop of 2.6%.
The Nasdaq 100 also didn’t manage to avert a monthly decline.
A dollar index rose the most in February since September.
The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed more than 10 basis points for the month.
The benchmark 10-year rate, meanwhile, rose more than 40 basis points in February.
Bonds in Europe also fell on Tuesday after hot inflation data caused a reassessment of rate expectations, picking up a theme that has dominated trading in a month that saw the Federal Reserve signal its intention to ratchet rates higher than the market had been anticipating.
Investors in February grappled with realization that inflation isn’t cooling to the extent the Fed would like to see, especially as key indicators the central bank is watching came in hotter than expected.
That subdued some of the optimism that had sent stocks soaring in January.
Bond traders no longer view the odds of a Fed rate cut this year as better-than-even, a shift from what they were expecting just a month ago.
Traders are now pricing US rates to peak at 5.4% this year, compared with about 5% just a month ago.
Market expectations also see the European Central Bank raising rates through February 2024, with a 4% ECB terminal rate fully priced.
“This whipsaw between narratives this year – Fed pause hopes being constructive for high beta assets, recession realities being the opposite – will continue,” Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, wrote in a note. “For this reason, and because the hurdle rate for keeping up with inflation is so high, we believe it’s important for investors to stay invested, leveraging resilient themes.”

Traders are also, once again, sifting through a bevy of economic data on Tuesday.
US consumer confidence declined in February because of concerns about the outlook for jobs, incomes and business conditions.
US home prices, meanwhile, fell for a sixth consecutive month.
“A lot of what the Fed is doing is working,” said Eric Diton, president and managing director of the Wealth Alliance, who noted layoffs at large companies and bankruptcies in small retail firms. “But it’s not a smooth ride. You’ll get blips — January was stronger data across the board and we’ll have to see what February and March look like. But I still think the overall trend is working — inflation is coming down, but it’s going to come down at this slower pace.”
Key events this week:
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, light vehicle sales, Wednesday
* Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Services PMI, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0576
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2027
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 136.20 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $23,254.31
* Ether fell 0.1% to $1,625.68
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.92%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.83%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $76.92 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,834.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Peyton Forte, Angel Adegbesan and Vildana Hajric.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. -Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012.
Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
February 27, 425: The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
February 27, 1997 Legislation banning most handguns in Britain went into effect. Go to article » 

Henry Longfellow, poet, b. 1807.
Rudolph Steiner, philosopher, educator, b.1861.
Joanne Woodward, actress, b. 1930.
Elizabeth Taylor, actress, b. 1932.
Ralph Nader, advocate, b.1934.

Black-coffee drinkers are ​​a shrinking minority.

Scientists attempt to solve the Chaco Canyon mystery. (h/t Scott Duke Kominers)

Rare black hole 1 billion times the mass of the sun could upend our understanding of galaxy formation: A rare supermassive black hole found hiding at the dawn of the universe could indicate that there were thousands more of the ravenous monsters stalking the early cosmos than scientists thought — and astronomers aren’t sure why.
The primordial black hole is around 1 billion times the mass of our sun and was found at the center of the galaxy COS-87259. Full Story: Live Science (2/24)

450-mile-wide solid metal ball forms Earth’s innermost core, earthquake waves reveal: Scientists have harnessed powerful waves from earthquakes to measure Earth’s innermost layer and found that our planet’s center is a 450-mile-wide (725 kilometers) ball of solid iron-nickel alloy.
Previously, many researchers believed that Earth had four distinct layers — the crust, the mantle, a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. But in the past couple of decades, scientists have proposed that the inner core actually consists of two layers, referred to as the inner core and the innermost inner core. Full Story: Live Science (2/24)

Detecting life on Mars may be ‘impossible’ with current NASA rovers, new study warns
The current generation of Mars rovers may have trouble confirming any signs of ancient life on the Red Planet because their scientific instruments aren’t up to snuff, according to new research.
Scientists conducted tests on sedimentary rocks in the Red Stone region of Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the oldest and driest deserts on Earth and a geological analog to ancient sites on Mars that two NASA rovers are currently exploring. Full Story: Live Science (2/24)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Northern lights seen across the UK – in pictures
The northern lights over Stonehenge in Wiltshire
Photograph: Nick Bull/pictureexclusive.com

St Andrews, UK
The northern lights above the Scottish town.
Photograph: Payton Cooney/St Leonard’s School/PA

Valldemossa, Spain
Towns across the Balearic island of Mallorca, including Valldemossa and Lluc, were blanketed in snow and temperatures dropped to minus 2 degrees Celsius
Photograph: Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 27^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32889.09	+72.17
		+0.22%
S&P 500	3982.24	+12.20
		+0.31 %
NASDAQ	11466.98	+72.04
		+0.63%
TSX	20260.13	+40.94
		+0.20%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27423.96	-29.52
		-0.11%
HANG SENG	19943.51	-66.53
		-0.33%
SENSEX	59288.35	-175.58
		-0.30%
FTSE 100*	7935.11	+56.45
		+0.72%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		3.385		3.388
CND. 30 Year Bond		3.277		3.270
U.S.    10 Year Bond		3.9160		3.9432
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.9263		3.9309

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7364	0.7347
US $	1.3580	1.3611
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4401	0.6944
US  $	1.0608	0.9427

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1810.95	1826.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	75.68	76.32

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1891, David Samoff, future president of Radio Corporation of America, was born in Uzlian, Russia.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2%, or 40.94 to 20,260.13 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 0.4% on Feb. 13.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3%. Uni-Select Inc. had the largest increase, rising 16.6%.
Today, 135 of 236 shares rose, while 98 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 2.4%
* The index declined 4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 9.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.8% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.2% in the past 5 days and fell 2.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.63% compared with 7.62% in the previous session and the average of 9.23% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 29.7545| 1.3| 41/9
Industrials | 15.1067| 0.6| 17/9
Energy | 10.6735| 0.3| 27/12
Consumer Discretionary | 4.8104| 0.7| 8/6
Financials | 1.0580| 0.0| 16/13
Real Estate | 0.5721| 0.1| 16/6
Health Care | -1.7524| -2.1| 1/6
Communication Services | -2.3372| -0.2| 0/5
Utilities | -5.5548| -0.6| 3/13
Consumer Staples | -7.8581| -0.9| 1/10
Information Technology | -9.2397| -0.7| 5/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific | 8.4230| 1.3| -25.6| 3.9
RBC | 7.8930| 0.6| -55.7| 8.4
First Quantum Minerals | 5.1960| 5.0| 6.8| -1.3
Shopify | -4.0310| -0.9| -38.9| 16.9
TD Bank | -7.0240| -0.6| -33.5| 3.3
TC Energy | -7.3450| -1.9| 35.6| 2.2
US
By Vildana Hajric and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — US stocks ended Monday with modest gains after fluctuating for the final stretch of the trading session as investors attempted to come to terms with Federal Reserve policy that could remain restrictive for longer than previously expected.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 bounced back after a dismal week for Wall Street.
The 10-year Treasury yield declined to hover around 3.92%.
A dollar index retreated.
Gold and copper rose.
Investors have been recalibrating their forecasts for where rates will end up, especially since inflation hasn’t been moderating as the Fed expected.
Traders are pricing US rates to peak at 5.4% this year, compared with about 5% just a month ago.
Investors remained on the edge after Fed Governor Philip Jefferson firmly stood by the central bank’s 2% inflation goal on Monday.
The fresh US data that investors are contending with on Monday point to an economy that remains robust despite the Fed’s persistent rate hikes.
US pending home sales rose last month by the most since June 2020, which could keep pressure on the Fed to stay hawkish.
Meanwhile, orders for durable goods fell, in their steepest decline since April 2020, underscoring a pullback in bookings for commercial aircraft.
But excluding transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose more than expected.
Orders placed with US factories for business equipment also rose in January as companies continued to make longer-term capital investments despite uncertainty about where the economy is headed.
“We have had a bit of a repricing in markets in February where there is more concern that central banks will have more work to do,” Sam Lynton-Brown, global head of macro strategy at BNP Paribas, said on Bloomberg Television. “The view we have is that there’s still some further room to run on that repricing.
So either equities are at risk to come lower or rates are at risk to head higher.”
In the near-term, both scenarios could play out if the markets price in a more hawkish policy outlook for the Fed, he said.
The risk-reward for equities remains poor, JPMorgan strategists led by Marko Kolanovic wrote in a note.
“The risk-reward of holding bonds at this level of short-term yields looks better than equity (earnings yield) than any time since the great financial crisis,” they wrote.
For now, a more optimistic outlook for earnings estimates is helping ease fears that inflation will remain entrenched even as growth slows, drawing investors back to stocks.
Those treading into this market risk are falling into a “bull trap” according to Michael Wilson, chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley.
That view was echoed by Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management.
“A generation of investors has since 2008 been taught that they should buy on dips, but today is different because of high inflation, and credit markets and equity markets are underestimating the Fed’s commitment to getting inflation down to 2%,” Slok wrote in a note.

Key events this week:
* US wholesale inventories, Conf. Board consumer confidence, Tuesday
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, light vehicle sales, Wednesday
* Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Services PMI, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.6% to $1.0608
* The British pound rose 0.9% to $1.2057
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 136.25 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1% to $23,335.77
* Ether fell 1.1% to $1,624.06
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.93%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.58%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 15 basis points to 3.80%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $75.67 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,824 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Alice Atkins, Cecile Gutscher, Isabelle Lee and Cristin Flanagan.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can. –Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993.

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
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