Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 20, 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of General Manuel Noriega. Go to article »

Bugs are evolving to eat plastic.

The hottest dishes of 2021, according to our resident foodie. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A woman holds a child as they stand inside a Christmas tree made of lights
CREDIT: Lalo Villar/AP
A rainbow in the sky above the Israeli settlement of Eli, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank
CREDIT: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
Pedestrians walk through the snow
CREDIT: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

Market Closes for December 20^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	34932.16	-433.28
		-1.23%
S&P 500	4568.02	-52.62
		-1.14%
NASDAQ	14980.95	-188.73 -1.24%
TSX	20538.22	-200.97
		-0.97%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	27937.81	-607.87
		-2.13%
HANG SENG	22744.86	-447.77
		-1.93%
SENSEX	55822.02	-1189.73
		-2.09%
FTSE 100*	7198.03	-71.89 -0.99%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.392	1.323
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.741	1.667
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4225	1.4021
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8511	1.8064

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7727	0.7756
US $	1.2942	1.2894
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4598	0.6851
US $	1.1278	0.8867

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1807.70	1795.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	68.23	70.86

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1968, the era of “go-go” mutual funds came crashing to a halt when the SEC suspended trading in Omega Equities, an unregistered “letter stock” that almost single-handedly powered the Mates Investment Fund to its 72.2% return. Within days, it turned out that manager Fred Mates had cooked his fund’s books, using unofficial markups on Omega stock to enhance his returns.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities declined for a third straight day as industrial, information technology and real estate stocks weighed down the market. The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 1%, or 200.97, to 20,538.22 in Toronto, the biggest move since Nov. 30. Today, industrials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 170 of 241 shares fell, while 64 rose. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.9%. Lundin Mining Corp. had the largest drop, falling 16.9%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 12 times. The next day, it advanced eight times for an average 1.1% and declined four times for an average 0.8%
* This year, the index rose 18%, poised for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 2.3%
* This month, the index fell 0.6%
* The index advanced 17% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.8% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 18.7% above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1% in the past 5 days and fell 4.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 15.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.20% compared with 14.02% in the previous session and the average of 12.86% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Industrials | -65.6786| -2.6| 2/28
* Financials | -58.4283| -0.9| 0/28
* Information Technology | -46.9307| -2.1| 1/15
* Real Estate | -12.7385| -2.0| 0/21
* Materials | -10.7420| -0.5| 25/27
* Consumer Discretionary | -7.3656| -1.0| 2/12
* Health Care | -2.6542| -1.6| 1/7
* Consumer Staples | -1.5352| -0.2| 2/10
* Utilities | -0.8378| -0.1| 10/6
* Communication Services | 1.6294| 0.2| 3/3
* Energy | 4.3074| 0.2| 18/13
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Canadian National | -40.0700| -5.9| 175.0| 10.4
* Shopify | -33.6000| -2.5| -35.0| 15.6
* Bank of Montreal | -11.4100| -1.9| 35.2| 35.9
* Bausch Health | 2.4630| 3.9| 7.8| 25.9
* Couche-Tard | 2.4750| 0.9| 53.3| 11.0
* Agnico Eagle Mines | 2.6660| 2.5| -2.9| -25.7

US
By Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — Investor sentiment sagged as concern about President Joe Biden’s economic agenda and the omicron coronavirus surge dragged down stocks. Traders said lower volume ahead of the holidays exacerbated market moves. The S&P 500 had its biggest three-day drop since September, led by losses in financial and material shares.
Bonds fell. The dollar was little changed. “There’s kind of two dynamics going on. Probably the most important one is the imminent reduction in liquidity,” said Jay Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital Management. “On top of that, you have the omicron concern.” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists cut their U.S. growth forecasts after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin blindsided the White House by rejecting Biden’s roughly $2 trillion tax-and-spending package. Meanwhile, Europe’s biggest nations weighed more Covid-19 restrictions.

What to watch this week:
* Reserve Bank of Australia releases minutes of its December rate meeting. Tuesday
* EIA oil inventory report Wednesday
* U.S. consumer income, new home sales, U.S. durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, initial jobless claims. Thursday
* Friday: U.S. markets are closed. European markets close earlier

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1278
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3209
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.67 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.42%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.37%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.77%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.7% to $68.23 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,789.40 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc and Abigail Moses.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

If any man seeks greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both. –Horace Mann, 1796-1859.

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.
Full moon this weekend: Known as the Cold Moon, so-called because this is how December’s full moon was known by Native American tribes.  It is the final full moon of 2021, reaching its peak fullness at 4.35am on 19 December. It comes just three days before the Winter Solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. Go to article »

SATURNALIA, December 17-23: Roman Masters served their slaves.
1790-Aztec calendar stone discovered.

Betty White is turning 100 and we’re all invited.  Long live the queen!

The first true millipede has been discovered in Australia. It has the most legs of any living animal.  We’re running out of days to say it so … #NOSCARYBUGS2021!!!

There’s a reason we can’t help but love holiday songs. They’re basically scientifically engineered ear worms. 
 PHOTOS OF THE DAY
The sun rises behind a cargo ship off the north-east coast of England
CREDIT: Owen Humphreys/PA
Marte Leinan Lund of Norway leaps during a trial jump for the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
CREDIT: Christian Bruna/EPA
A man relaxes against a lighthouse with his bicycle on the French Caribbean island
CREDIT: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

Market Closes for December 17^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35365.44	-532.20
		-1.48%
S&P 500	4620.64	-48.03
		-1.03%
NASDAQ	15169.68	-10.75 -0.07%
TSX	20739.01	-0.77
		–%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28545.68	-520.64
		-1.79%
HANG SENG	23192.63	-282.87
		-1.21%
SENSEX	57011.74	-889.40
		-1.54%
FTSE 100*	7269.92	+9.31 +0.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.323	1.340
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.667	1.692
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4021	1.4106
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8064	1.8524

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7756	0.7828
US $	1.2894	1.2774
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4492	0.6901
US $	1.1240	0.8897

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1795.70	1768.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.86	72.38

Market Commentary:
     Whatever method you use to pick stocks, your ultimate success or failure will depend o your ability to ignore the worries of the world long enough to allow your investments to succeed.  It isn’t the head but the stomach that determines the fate of the stock picker. -Peter Lynch, Fidelity Investments, Beating the Street, 1994.
Canada:
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian financial and energy stocks fell Friday, and those drops in Canada’s two largest industry sectors weighed on the market as the S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 20,739.01 in Toronto. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.5%. Enghouse Systems Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 6.7%. Today, 87 of 233 shares fell, while 143 rose; 3 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financial stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 19%, poised for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 3.3%
* So far this week, the index fell 0.7%
* The index advanced 17% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.9% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 19.9% above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.02% compared with 14.13% in the previous session and the average of 12.30% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -50.3197| -0.7| 7/21
* Energy | -25.0659| -1.0| 6/17
* Industrials | -4.1594| -0.2| 19/11
* Health Care | 4.3679| 2.7| 9/0
* Consumer Discretionary | 6.0286| 0.8| 11/2
* Consumer Staples | 6.3752| 0.8| 9/4
* Real Estate | 7.4364| 1.2| 22/1
* Materials | 9.0213| 0.4| 29/24
* Communication Services | 10.4599| 1.1| 6/1
* Utilities | 11.9587| 1.3| 14/2
* Information Technology | 23.3115| 1.1| 11/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* TD Bank | -18.0600| -1.5| 98.5| 30.9
* Bank of Montreal | -11.5500| -1.9| 126.4| 38.6
* Canadian Natural Resources | -9.0660| -2.2| -5.4| 63.1
* BCE | 3.4920| 0.9| 111.3| 20.7
* Rogers Communications| 4.1740| 3.0| 30.6| -0.5
* Shopify | 9.0770| 0.7| 116.1| 18.6

US:
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Volatility gripped financial markets, with stock moves magnified by the quarterly expiration of options and futures. In a session of heavy trading volume, the S&P 500 extended its weekly slide. With the holidays fast approaching, it could have been the last day of 2021 with enough liquidity for investors to trade in and out of large positions.  The dollar climbed after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said rates could rise as early as March, following a decision to end asset purchases sooner than planned.  The Treasury curve flattened, with the spread between five and 30-year bonds near Friday’s lows. In the last couple of days, central banks in the U.S. and Europe have pivoted –- at varying speeds — toward tighter policy. They now see reining in prices as a higher priority than protecting output and employment from further pandemic fallout. Some analysts have warned that the Fed might need to end its upcoming hiking cycle sooner rather than later, with the recent plunge in long-term yields suggesting economic growth could be at risk. Such backdrop has investors questioning whether stocks are due for a rougher patch, following the surge from pandemic lows. It has also put highly valued shares such as tech companies on the spotlight. The cohort of marquee names like Apple Inc., Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. has faced intense gyrations, surging in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s Fed decision, tumbling on the next day and posting mild losses Friday.

Comments:
* “Even though we’re coming from a place of very liquid markets and a lot of accommodation, the directional change and the pull forward in the taper schedule and the potential rate-hike schedule… this is a velocity change that we’re seeing and that’s really what the market is digesting,” Anna Han, equity strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, told Bloomberg Television.
* “Our advice to investors is to stay invested, but be cautious.  While it’s generally a wise idea to stay invested through any downturns or periods of volatility, it’s also important for investors to know their own risk tolerance,” said Robert Schein, chief investment officer at Blanke Schein Wealth Management.
* “The cyclical value sectors such as energy, materials and industrials have historically done well leading up to the start of Fed rate hikes. We wouldn’t be surprised to see value stocks make another run as the economy picks up some speed after the latest waves of Covid-19 variants fade — hopefully soon,” said Jeffrey Buchbinder, equity strategist at LPL Financial.

In another sign that investors are wary about the impacts of tighter policy on frothier industries, the MSCI World Growth Index of companies with stronger earnings expansion has underperformed its value counterpart this month. The old stock market adage of “buy the first hike, sell the penultimate rate hike” could go wrong this time with inflation running hot, according to Bank of America Corp. “Little cracks” were appearing in megacap tech before tightening even began, Michael Hartnett, BofA’s chief investment strategist, wrote in a note. He remains bearish until investor positioning “shows full-blown capitulation” or a credit event on Wall Street causes central banks to announce a reversal of tightening.

Corporate highlights:
* Elon Musk offloaded a second batch of Tesla Inc. shares in a matter of days and is now three-quarters of the way done selling 10% of his stake in the company.
* FedEx Corp. jumped after raising its outlook and posting earnings that handily beat analysts’ estimates.
* Rivian Automotive Inc. slumped after the electric-truck maker’s debut earnings report revealed a slower-than-expected increase in production.
* Darden Restaurants Inc., the operator of Olive Garden restaurants, dropped after its forecast fell short of estimates and the company said its chief executive officer will retire next year.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6%
* The euro fell 0.8% to $1.1239
* The British pound fell 0.7% to $1.3234
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.74 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.41%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.38%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.76%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7% to $70.45 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Sunil Jagtiani, Abigail Moses, Peyton Forte and Emily Graffeo.
Have  a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine
that all the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun. –William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.

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:
December 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea overboard to protest tea taxes. Go to article »
1944 – Nazi Germany launches a counteroffensive against the Allies in the Ardennes region of Belgium, beginning the “Battle of the Bulge.”

Margaret Mead, anthropologist, b. 1901.
Jane Austen, novelist, b. 1775.
Ludwig Von Beethoven, composer, b. 1770

We really did buy more alcohol during the early pandemic, study finds.  Oh, if we only knew what was to come.  

‘Shatner in Space’ joins William Shatner on his trip to the final frontier.  Reminder: Shatner is 90 YEARS OLD. And he WENT TO SPACE. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A long-exposure photo shows a regional train leaving a station
CREDIT: Michael Probst/AP

People queue outside a vaccination centre at Chester Cathedral as the coronavirus booster programme is accelerated in England
CREDIT: Peter Byrne/PA
Clouds hover over Foothill Boulevard as a storm moves through the Californian valley, threatening to trigger possible mudslides in neighbourhoods next to the Bobcat Fire burn scar
CREDIT: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock
                                                                  
Market Closes for December 16^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35897.64	-29.79
		-0.08%
S&P 500	4668.67	-41.18
		-0.87%
NASDAQ	15180.43	-385.15 -2.47%
TSX	20739.78	-29.38
		-0.14%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29066.32	+606.60
		+2.13%
HANG SENG	23475.50	+54.74
		+0.23%
SENSEX	57901.14	+113.11
		+0.20%
FTSE 100*	7260.61	+89.86 +1.25%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.340	1.409
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.692	1.749
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4106	1.4599
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8524	1.8579

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7828	0.7792
US $	1.2774	1.2834
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4476	0.6908
US $	1.1332	0.8825

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1768.65	1776.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.38	70.87

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1835, a disastrous fire raged through Manhattan, destroying the New York Stock & Exchange Building—but Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief anyway. A strongbox of documents showing who stood to gain and lose from the manipulation of stock prices was rescued from the flames by a brave (or desperate) broker. His grateful peers promptly gave him a generous cash reward.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities slipped Thursday, dragged down by a 3.1% drop in information technology stocks including sharp declines for Shopify Inc. and Lightspeed Commerce Inc. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1 percent to 20,739.78 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%. Shopify contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4%. Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.3%. Today, 109 of 233 shares fell, while 119 rose; six of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 19%, poised for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 3.3%
* So far this week, the index fell 0.7%
* The index advanced 18% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.8% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 19.9% above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9% in the past five days and fell 4.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.13% compared with 14.26% in the previous session and the average of 12.09% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -70.0367| -3.1| 0/15
* Industrials | -14.3673| -0.6| 4/26
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.8088| -0.5| 4/9
* Health Care | -3.6559| -2.2| 1/8
* Consumer Staples | -2.9967| -0.4| 5/8
* Real Estate | -2.3293| -0.4| 10/12
* Communication Services | 2.7534| 0.3| 6/1
* Utilities | 3.1471| 0.3| 11/4
* Energy | 3.4818| 0.1| 13/9
* Financials | 4.7800| 0.1| 19/9
* Materials | 53.6270| 2.3| 46/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -46.5500| -3.4| 54.7| 17.8
* Bank of Montreal | -14.9400| -2.4| 89.7| 41.2
* Brookfield Asset Management | -12.6500| -1.7| 18.7| 42.7
* CIBC | 7.2450| 1.6| 81.6| 34.1
* Barrick Gold | 11.0200| 4.0| 52.2| -17.2
* Royal Bank of Canada | 11.2800| 0.9| -6.0| 25.7

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Technology companies drove stocks down on speculation that rate hikes will reduce the appeal of the highly valued industry that has powered the bull market in equities. The Nasdaq 100 sank the most since September, led by losses in giants like Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc.  Software company Adobe Inc. tumbled 10% on disappointing revenue forecasts, while a gauge of chip stocks slumped over 4%. The S&P 500 erased gains that were earlier triggered by bets central banks can tighten policies to fight inflation without derailing the economy. Financial and commodity shares rose. Bitcoin slid. FedEx Corp. climbed in late trading after profit beat estimates. Even with the weakness on Thursday, tech shares remain among the most-notable outperformers of 2021. Valuations have soared to levels last seen during the dot-com bubble, with Apple recently approaching what would be a historic $3 trillion market capitalization. While the outlook for rate hikes threatens the industry’s appeal, several analysts expect the group to still do well due to its strong earnings potential. Meantime, policy makers are weighing measures to fight price pressures while balancing risks to growth. European equities jumped as officials unveiled a gradual pullback of pandemic stimulus, while the pound gained as the Bank of England unexpectedly raised rates. The announcements followed Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Reserve to accelerate the pace at which it tapers asset purchases, while projecting rate hikes through 2024.

Comments:
* “Bitcoin and big tech are getting punished today as investors reallocate some of their more profitable risky bets. The growth outlook still remains upbeat for next year,” with some traders
rotating back into cyclicals, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
* “While we expect increased stock-market volatility as the Federal Reserve embarks on normalizing policy, equity markets should end the year higher as the economy still remains strong,
which should lead to continued earnings growth,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners.
* “I do think that central banks are being reactive, which is good. If inflation does start to moderate as these major central banks are still expecting, we may actually expect some turn in
the policy direction in the later part of next year,” said Janet Mui, investment director at Brewin Dolphin.
Corporate highlights:
* Apple is hiring engineers for a new office in Southern  California to develop wireless chips that could eventually replace components supplied by Broadcom Inc. and Skyworks Solutions Inc.
* Delta Air Lines Inc. projected it will report a profit this quarter, citing strong demand for travel and a decline in jet-fuel prices.
* Reddit Inc., the social-media platform that helped fuel this year’s meme stock frenzy, said it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering.

Applications for state unemployment benefits rose last week — but remained near the lowest levels of the pandemic as the labor market recovery continues.
U.S. housing starts strengthened in November to the fastest pace in eight months, while output at factories advanced solidly.
Here are some key events this week:
* Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, Friday.
* S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly rebalance effective after markets close, Friday.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index fell 0.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1332
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3325
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 113.68 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.42%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.76%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $71.93 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 2% to $1,799.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Namitha Jagadeesh, Emily Graffeo, Vildana Hajric, Peyton Forte and Sophie Caronello.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

How far that little candle throws its beams!  So shines a good deed in a naughty world.-William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 15, 1916, the French defeated the Germans in the World War I Battle of Verdun.  Go to article »
1989: General Augusto Pinochet defeated; democracy returns to Chile.

J. Paul Getty, b. 1892.
Sitting Bull, d. 1890.

Art trader accidentally sells an NFT for a fraction of market price.  The “Bored Ape” NFT was worth nearly $300,000, but a distracted human sold it for less than $3,000.

Harley-Davidson is spinning off its electric motorcycle brand.  “Get your battery charging! Head out on the highway!”

New JFK assassination records just dropped.

PHOTOS OF THE YEAR BY DRONE
Chris Gorman is a photojournalist who shoots almost entirely by drone, allowing him to take stunning photos from great heights. -The Telegraph.
A spectacular laser show from Tower Bridge brings in the new year in London. January 1
CREDIT: CHRIS GORMAN / BIG LADDER
Stonehenge could be mistaken for sugar-dusted sweets in this frosty scene, January 24^th
CREDIT: CHRIS GORMAN / BIG LADDER
The sun rises on a cold crisp morning over Arundel Castle in West Sussex. For over 400 years the castle has been the home of the Duke of Norfolk. 22 November
CREDIT: CHRIS GORMAN / BIG LADDER
Misty morning over the quintessentially English village of South Harting in West Sussex. 13 October
CREDIT: CHRIS GORMAN / BIG LADDER

Market Closes for December 15^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35927.43	+383.25
		+1.08%
S&P 500	4709.85	+75.76
		+1.63%
NASDAQ	15565.58	+327.94 +2.15%
TSX	20769.16	+120.59
		+0.58%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28459.72	+27.08
		+0.10%
HANG SENG	23420.76	-215.19
		-0.91%
SENSEX	57788.03	-329.06
		-0.57%
FTSE 100*	7170.75	-47.89 -0.66%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.409	1.432
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.749	1.788
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4599	1.4411
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8579	1.8280

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7792	0.7775
US $	1.2834	1.2862
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4491	0.6901
US $	1.1291	0.8857

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1776.90	1787.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.87	70.73

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1886, for the first time, total daily trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded 1 million shares.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities climbed Wednesday, ending a five-day losing streak, amid gains in the financial and health-care sectors. The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6% to 20,769.16 in Toronto. It’s the biggest increase since rising 1.45% on Dec. 7 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5%. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.3 percent. Denison Mines Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.1 percent. Today, 134 of 233 shares rose, while 96 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financial stocks. Mining and metal stocks weighed down the index, as well as energy stocks despite a late-day rally.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 19 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 3.5 percent
* The index advanced 19 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.7 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 20.1 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.5 percent in the past 5 days and fell 4.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent 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 rose to 14.26 percent compared with 14.18 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.87 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 60.4936| 0.9| 21/7
* Industrials | 24.5942| 1.0| 17/13
* Information Technology | 24.4969| 1.1| 12/3
* Utilities | 8.3253| 0.9| 13/3
* Consumer Discretionary | 5.8771| 0.8| 9/4
* Consumer Staples | 5.7837| 0.8| 10/3
* Real Estate | 4.1153| 0.7| 20/4
* Health Care | 2.0947| 1.3| 8/1
* Communication Services | 0.3464| 0.0| 2/4
* Energy | -2.2442| -0.1| 9/13
* Materials | -13.2843| -0.6| 13/41
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Brookfield Asset Management | 17.2700| 2.3| 35.0| 45.1
* Royal Bank of Canada | 16.6800| 1.3| 16.9| 24.6
* Canadian National | 11.5000| 1.7| 75.9| 17.5
* Barrick Gold | -3.5510| -1.3| 67.7| -20.4
* Wheaton Precious Metals | -3.8750| -2.4| 89.8| -5.4
* Enbridge | -6.1370| -0.9| 80.2| 16.9

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied on speculation that the Federal Reserve will effectively combat surging prices without choking off economic growth. The S&P 500 closed near its all-time high after initially dropping when the Fed statement came out. The Nasdaq 100 jumped almost 2.5%. Treasury yields rose, with money markets shifting to price in three quarter-point hikes by the end of 2022 as signaled by officials. The new forecasts also showed policy makers see another three rate increases in 2023 and two more in 2024. “The big question for markets now is: can the U.S. economy digest this pace of hikes without ending up with a stomach ache?,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. “After the 20 months we’ve had, perhaps six hikes over a two-year period looks overwhelming. But compared to previous hiking cycles — most pertinently 2004 to 2006 when the Fed made 17 consecutive hikes — we are tentatively confident that the U.S. economy can handle it. Not only that, but U.S. inflation needs it.”

The Fed will double the pace at which it’s scaling back purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to $30 billion a month, putting it on track to conclude the program in early 2022, rather than mid-year as initially planned. “The economy has been making rapid progress toward maximum employment,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said.

More comments:
* “The Fed is signaling that it is taking inflation seriously and, so far, the market believes that the Fed will successfully fight inflation,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
* “This could mark a turning point in the business cycle as we’re actually seeing a market cheering the Fed’s vote of confidence in the economy, as opposed to running higher on stimulus,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial.
* “This isn’t the Fed’s first rodeo when it comes to tapering.  All else equal, investors should not expect Fed tapering to be a disruptive process for markets,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede.  The five-year breakeven rate on Treasury inflation protected securities — or the difference between those yields and the ones on typical Treasuries — approached 2.8%. That suggests the Fed will be challenged to get inflation down toward its 2% target.

Some corporate highlights:
* Chinese firms listed in the U.S. like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. slid on concerns the U.S. will hit more companies with investment and export sanctions.
* Lowe’s Cos. delivered a revenue outlook that missed analyst estimates and said it expects home-improvement demand to slow next year.
* Eli Lilly & Co. raised its 2021 earnings and revenue forecast and said it expects 2022 sales in a range of $27.8 billion and $28.3 billion, sending shares up the most since June.

Investors also monitored the latest developments on the omicron coronavirus variant. Anthony Fauci, who serves as a medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said on a briefing Wednesday that studies so far show strong antibody responses from existing boosters, though protections against omicron are weaker with just two doses. The strain could make up about 13% of Covid-19 cases in New York and New Jersey, projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

Here are some key events this week:
* BOE rate decision, Thursday.
* ECB rate decision, Thursday.
* U.S. housing starts, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday.
* BOJ monetary policy decision, Friday.
* S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly rebalance effective after markets close, Friday.
* “Quadruple witching” day in the U.S. market, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire, Friday.

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 2.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 1.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1294
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3265
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 114.05 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.46%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.36%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.74%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $71.58 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,779.30 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Vildana Hajric, Emily Graffeo, Katie Greifeld, Peyton Forte and Sophie Caronello.
Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. –Socrates, c. 470BCE-399 BCE.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December 14, 1911: Amundsen reaches the South Pole.
On Dec. 14, 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967. Go to article »
Sandy hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

Nostradamus, astronomer, b.1503.

Time magazine names Elon Musk as Person of the Year.  Wait a minute! Are we positive he’s human?

An electric pickup wins MotorTrend Truck of the Year Award.  I’m shocked, shocked!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A small house and fields covered in snow in the Alps
CREDIT: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images
The Royal Liver buildings appear surrounded by early morning fog
CREDIT: Peter Byrne/PA
A Roman coin hoard of copper-alloy nummi (coins), originally contained in three separate pots, (AD 300-400), found in Wickwar, Gloucestershire, is displayed at the British Museum
CREDIT: Yui Mok/PA

Market Closes for December 14^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35544.18	-106.77
		-0.30%
S&P 500	4634.09	-34.88
		-0.75%
NASDAQ	15237.64	-175.64 -1.14%
TSX	20648.57	-99.88
		-0.48%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28432.64	-207.85
		-0.73%
HANG SENG	23635.95	-318.63
		-1.33%
SENSEX	58117.09	-166.33
		-0.29%
FTSE 100*	7218.64	-12.80 -0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.432	1.395
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.788	1.745
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4411	1.4156
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8280	1.7998

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7775	0.7804
US $	1.2862	1.2813
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4481	0.6906
US $	1.1258	0.8882

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1787.80	1779.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.73	71.29

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1900, German physicist Max Planck, in a lecture at the German Physical Society, introduced the theory of quantum mechanics. Today its principles of discontinuity and packets of emitted energy underlie an estimated 30% of the U.S. economy, including semiconductors, lasers and medical MRI devices.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities dropped Tuesday as Ottawa announced the details of tax plans on real estate and large technology companies. The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the fifth straight day, dropping 0.5%, or 99.88 to 20,648.57 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Dec. 3, led by information technology stocks. Shopify Inc., Canada’s largest tech company and largest firm by market value, contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.9%. Nuvei Corp. had the largest drop, falling almost 9%, as the company responded to a short-seller report. Today, 175 of 233 companies fell, while 56 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology, communications, materials and energy stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 18 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 2.9 percent
* The index advanced 19 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.3 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 19.4 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and fell 5.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.6 on a trailing basis and 15.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent 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 14.18 percent compared with 14.22 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.76 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -49.3402| -2.2| 2/13
* Energy | -21.5106| -0.8| 2/21
* Materials | -19.1415| -0.8| 7/48
* Communication Services | -8.1391| -0.8| 2/5
* Real Estate | -4.8104| -0.8| 4/20
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.5247| -0.5| 4/9
* Consumer Staples | -3.0430| -0.4| 6/6
* Financials | -1.4218| 0.0| 16/11
* Health Care | -1.2021| -0.7| 1/8
* Utilities | 1.7783| 0.2| 7/9
* Industrials | 10.4788| 0.4| 5/25
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -40.1600| -2.9| 4.6| 21.1
* Couche-Tard | -7.2820| -2.5| 289.5| 11.0
* CGI Inc | -4.3270| -2.6| -13.0| 6.7
* Canadian National | 3.1480| 0.5| 5.6| 15.5
* Constellation Software | 3.3810| 1.2| 43.7| 33.1
* Canadian Pacific | 20.9200| 3.6| -1.5| 5.9

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — As the Federal Reserve gets ready to wrap up its final meeting of the year, another report showing inflation running hot sank some of the most-expensive pockets of the stock market. Revered by investors during the pandemic for their solid balance-sheets, technology giants dragged down equities on Tuesday. Sentiment soured on concern that a jump in both producer and consumer prices will put pressure on the Fed to act more aggressively. While officials have given no signals they would rush to tighten policy, a hasty shift is seen as the biggest downside risk for stocks in 2022, according to an informal Bloomberg News survey of fund managers. The S&P 500 dropped for a second day, with financial companies posting the only gain among 11 major industries. Treasury two-year yields topped 0.65%, while the U.S. dollar rose. Oil and gold retreated.

Comments:
* “Anytime there’s a risk of easy money being taken away, that will result in some of these very expensive areas of the market to pull back,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors.
* “The pressure on the Fed to pick up the pace of tightening is only mounting. With higher prices permeating the marketplace, we could see a snowball effect when it comes to inflation challenges as more suppliers justify higher prices and more consumers begin to close their wallets,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial.
* “The inflation trajectory remains worrisome. While we believe that price pressures will abate next year, the Fed is doing the prudent thing by tapering faster, so that it is well positioned to hike rates if needed,” said Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of the 50 most-shorted stocks has plummeted back into a bear market for the first time since June, ringing up gains for traders who sell shares they’d borrowed in hopes of buying them back at lower prices. The renewed selloff in the more speculative corners of the market adds more evidence of a waning appetite to take risks as a new variant of the coronavirus spreads and the Fed zeroes in on fighting inflation.

Corporate highlights:
* Elon Musk made more headway toward his pledge to sell 10% of his Tesla Inc. stake, and it may have cost the carmaker its $1 trillion valuation.
* Boeing Co. received 109 gross orders for 737 Max airliners last month, bringing its sales tally for the narrow-body jets to 692 this year, according to the plane maker’s website.
* 3M Co. agreed to separate its food-safety business and join it with Neogen Corp. in a deal that would value the combined company at about $9.3 billion.

Here are some key events this week:
* China releases November industrial output, retail sales data, Wednesday.
* Fed rate decision, Wednesday.
* U.S. business inventories, retail sales, empire manufacturing, Wednesday.
* BOE rate decision, Thursday.
* ECB rate decision, Thursday.
* U.S. housing starts, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday.
* BOJ monetary policy decision, Friday.
* S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly rebalance effective after markets close, Friday.
* “Quadruple witching” day in the U.S. market, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire, Friday.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1256
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3227
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 113.74 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.44%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.37%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 0.72%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $70.36 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,771.80 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Abigail Moses, Vildana Hajric, Peyton Forte, Emily Graffeo and Lu Wang.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both. –Tryon Edwards, 1809-1894.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
2000: Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency 36 days after Election Day.  Go to article »

2003: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit, during Operation Red Dawn by US forces.

Italian bishop apologizes for telling children Santa doesn’t exist.  Looks like someone’s getting coal in his stocking

Lions get loose in a Chinese airport, hilarity ensues.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Visitors at the Christmas market
CREDIT: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A contestant rides a wave during the Tow Surfing Challenge at Praia do Norte. The area is famous for generating some of the largest waves in the world
CREDIT: Carlos Barroso/EPA
A waxing moon sets behind the dome of the Old College at the University of Edinburgh
CREDIT: Jane Barlow/PA

Market Closes for December 13^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35650.95	-320.04
		-0.89%
S&P 500	4668.97	-43.05
		-0.91%
NASDAQ	15413.28	-217.32 -1.39%
TSX	20748.45	-142.17
		-0.68%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28640.49	+202.72
		+0.71%
HANG SENG	23954.58	-41.14
		-0.17%
SENSEX	58283.42	-503.25
		-0.86%
FTSE 100*	7231.44	-60.34 -0.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.395	1.466
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.745	1.797
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4156	1.4837
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.7998	1.8777

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7804	0.7861
US $	1.2813	1.2721
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4457	0.6919
US $	1.1283	0.8863

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1779.75	1776.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.29	71.67

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1969, 13 securities salesmen, led by Loren Dunton, met at the O’Hare Inn near Chicago’s airport to analyze what was wrong with the way investments were sold to the American public. The result was the birth of a new profession called “financial planning.”
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell for a fourth straight day, as a drop in oil prices weighed down Canadian energy stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite declined 0.7 percent, or 142.17 to 20,748.45 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Dec. 3. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5 percent. Ener plus Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.4 percent. Today, 142 of 233 shares fell, while 88 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology and energy stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 19 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 3.4 percent
* The index advanced 18 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.8 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 19.9 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and fell 4.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7 on a trailing basis and 15.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.22 percent compared with 14.12 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.65 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -53.7831| -2.3| 2/13
* Energy | -34.9534| -1.3| 3/20
* Industrials | -34.3577| -1.4| 8/22
* Financials | -33.6398| -0.5| 3/25
* Consumer Discretionary | -6.6067| -0.9| 2/11
* Communication Services | -2.7799| -0.3| 1/6
* Health Care | -1.9953| -1.2| 0/8
* Consumer Staples | 0.5748| 0.1| 6/7
* Real Estate | 2.5978| 0.4| 18/5
* Utilities | 6.9025| 0.7| 12/4
* Materials | 15.8638| 0.7| 33/21
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -50.9700| -3.5| 63.1| 24.7
* Royal Bank of Canada | -16.8100| -1.3| 99.3| 22.8
* Canadian National | -16.2000| -2.3| 147.3| 15.0
* Agnico Eagle Mines | 3.1530| 3.1| 147.4| -30.2
* TC Energy | 3.8730| 1.0| 56.2| 13.4
* Franco-Nevada | 5.0260| 2.3| 77.5| 6.5

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Markets around the globe prepared for a wave of central bank decisions, with traders weighing the potential impacts of less generous monetary settings amid coronavirus challenges and lofty equity valuations. The S&P 500 dropped from a record, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperformed major stock benchmarks. A gauge of megacap companies slumped, with electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. down about 5%. Apple Inc. slipped after the iPhone maker approached a $3 trillion market value.
Travel shares such as airlines, cruise operators and hotels sank. Bonds and the dollar climbed. A selloff in Bitcoin pushed the world’s largest cryptocurrency closer to a key technical level. About 20 central banks are due to hold meetings this week, with the Federal Reserve seen winding down bond purchases and signaling an interest-rate liftoff in 2022 — heralding a historic pivot to counter the fastest inflation since the 1980s. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are also set to announce their monetary policy decisions.

Comments:
* “U.S. stocks were under pressure as many investors began to fear a trading life without a Fed safety net. A wrath of central bank rate decisions this week will likely show stocks will have to move higher without the help of central bankers,” wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
* “The Fed’s pivot to a more aggressive tapering schedule poses a larger risk for asset prices than most investors believe. Good news, supply is improving, but will it arrive at the wrong time?”, wrote Morgan Stanley strategists including Mike Wilson.
* “As long as the Fed doesn’t provide a materially hawkish surprise this Wednesday (something that’s possible, but unlikely), stocks can rally into year-end on momentum, even if valuations are again stretched,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter.

The ghost of the tech bubble could soon come back to haunt investors as hefty valuations may be threatened by the likely tightening of monetary policy. The S&P 500’s long-term price-to-earnings ratio — which compares the current price with the 10-year average real earnings per share — has reached 37, a level last seen in 2000. “Valuations are extremely high on almost any metric,” Deutsche Bank AG strategists said in a note. Inflation expectations among U.S. consumers rose to a new high of 6% for the coming year, according to the latest consumer survey of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  The study showed that Americans foresee faster price increases for items like rent and food, which take up a big chunk of household spending and can’t easily be substituted.
Corporate highlights:
* Losses for a basket of meme stocks are mounting, with traders shifting away from riskier assets. GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. have been the biggest drags on the group since mid-November.
* Pfizer Inc. agreed to buy Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a deal valued at about $6.7 billion that brings potential therapies targeting immuno-inflammatory diseases.
* Bristol Myers Squibb Co. climbed as the drugmaker said it will raise its dividend and buy back up to $15 billion in shares.
* Harley-Davidson Inc. jumped after saying it would list its electric-motorcycle unit publicly through a merger with a blank-check company.

Here are some key events this week:
* Euro zone industrial production, Tuesday.
* U.S. PPI, Tuesday.
* China releases November industrial output, retail sales data, Wednesday.
* Fed rate decision, Wednesday.
* U.S. business inventories, retail sales, empire manufacturing, Wednesday.
* BOE rate decision, Thursday.
* ECB rate decision, Thursday.
* U.S. housing starts, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday.
* BOJ monetary policy decision, Friday.
* S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly rebalance effective after markets close, Friday.
* “Quadruple witching” day in the U.S. market, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire, Friday.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1284
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.3209
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 113.60 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 1.42%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to -0.38%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 0.70%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $71.18 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,788.10 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Abigail Moses, Vildana Hajric, Emily Graffeo and Michael Msika.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined. -Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1878-1969.

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.
December 10, 1968: Japan’s biggest heist, the still unsolved “300 million yen robbery”, occurs in Tokyo.  A man posing as a police officer on a motorcycle stopped a truck transporting money for a bank, stealing over 294 million yen.

1998 Six astronauts opened the doors to the new international space station.  Go to article »
 
Alfred Nobel, d. 1896
Emily Dickinson, poet, b. 1830
Red Cloud, Lakota Chief, d.1909

There’s a certain
Slant of light,
Winter Afternoon,
That oppresses,
Like the Heft of Cathedral Tunes.
                  -Emily Dickinson

New eye drops could replace eyeglasses.

These meat-eating dinosaurs could sprint as fast as Usain Bolt.  You know, there’s a lot that’s wrong with the world, but at least we don’t have ultra-fast meat-eating dinosaurs running around anymore. 

Camels ejected from beauty contest over Botox use and other ‘tampering’.  Sorry, still trying to wrap my head around the phrase “camel beauty contest.” 

Pitchfork’s 50 best albums of 2021.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A tornado in the sky over the ‘Eternal City’
CREDIT: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
A sculpture by artist Fabio Viale during the exhibition In Between at Piazzetta Reale
CREDIT: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images
The coffin of former senator Bob Dole lies in state at the end of the viewing day in the rotunda of the US Capitol
CREDIT: Andrew Harnik/AP

Market Closes for December 10^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35970.99	+216.30
		+0.61%
S&P 500	4712.02	+44.57
		+0.95%
NASDAQ	15630.60	+113.23 +0.73%
TSX	20890.62	-34.87
		-0.17%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28437.77	-287.70
		-1.00%
HANG SENG	23995.72	-259.14
		-1.07%
SENSEX	58786.67	-20.46
		-0.03%
FTSE 100*	7291.78	-29.48 -0.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.466	1.512
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.797	1.826
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4837	1.4990
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8777	1.8763

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7861	0.7867
US $	1.2721	1.2711
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4398	0.6945
US $	1.1318	0.8836

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1776.15	1783.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.67	70.94

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1984, Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack—two professors in different academic departments at Stanford who were frustrated by their difficulty in communicating by computer—founded Cisco Systems to make improved network switching equipment.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third straight session Friday, dragged down by companies in the health care, consumer staples and information technologies sectors. The S&P/TSX Composite closed down 0.2%, or 34.87 to 20,890.62 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.2 percent. Canopy Growth Corp. had the largest drop, falling 6.0 percent to C$12.18 per share, its lowest price since Oct. 2017. Today, 137 of 233 shares fell, while 91 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 20%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 4.1%
* So far this week, the index rose 1.2%
* The index advanced 19 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.2 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 20.8 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.12 percent compared with 14.46 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.21 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -32.2890| -1.4| 10/5
* Materials | -14.1965| -0.6| 13/40
* Consumer Staples | -12.5171| -1.6| 8/5
* Health Care | -4.4293| -2.6| 1/8
* Utilities | -1.8600| -0.2| 3/12
* Real Estate | -1.0983| -0.2| 5/19
* Consumer Discretionary | 0.2484| 0.0| 5/8
* Energy | 3.5278| 0.1| 14/7
* Industrials | 3.6918| 0.2| 11/19
* Communication Services | 5.8466| 0.6| 5/2
* Financials | 18.1990| 0.3| 16/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -32.8200| -2.2| -9.8| 29.2
* Couche-Tard | -14.3900| -4.7| 620.3| 14.9
* First Quantum Minerals | -4.7180| -4.1| 13.1| 24.6
* Royal Bank of Canada | 4.4500| 0.4| -30.5| 24.5
* Nutrien | 4.5140| 1.3| -11.2| 46.1
* Brookfield Asset Management | 6.3770| 0.9| -57.6| 42.2

US
By Jennifer Bissell-Linsk and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to a record Friday after in-line inflation data spurred bets the Federal Reserve won’t have to accelerate plans to tighten monetary policy. The S&P 500 gained 1% and Nasdaq 100 added 1.1% as the headline rate came in at 6.8%, as expected, which is the highest since 1982. Meanwhile, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 1.49% as traders trimmed bets on the pace of Fed tightening. Investors had been looking forward to the inflation report and a meeting of the Federal Reserve next week for clues on the pace of tapering and interest rate increases, after Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank should consider withdrawing stimulus at a faster pace.
Gold jumped while the dollar dipped. The in-line reading “is good news, relative to fears going in. People thought it would be much worse,” said Dennis DeBusschere, founder of 22V Research. “It is still a high number to be sure, but should reduce some worries on the Fed having to crush growth.” The report comes as uncertainty from the omicron virus variant has also been weighing on markets.
The U.S. appears to be headed for a holiday crisis as virus cases and hospital admissions climb. Likewise, London firms have started telling thousands of staff to work from home. Still, U.S. consumer sentiment has been improving, with one gauge showing an increase in confidence from a decade-low in November. “We believe the stock market will continue to rise as consumer spending remains strong and corporate profits – for now — are continuing to grow, but increased volatility is likely over the next 6-12 months as inflation, interest rates and Fed policy are all going to be shifting much more rapidly than they have in the past,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. “The most important thing investors can do is to remain diversified and not lean too heavily into any one area.”

Below is additional commentary from market watchers:
* “The inflation print from this morning will reinforce the Fed’s resolve to accelerate tapering. With the strength in the economic recovery, it is time to take the crutches away.” – Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network
* “The knee jerk reaction is one of relief that CPI didn’t print the 7%-handle. But the data are still strong, particularly the trend in core CPI, so a faster Fed taper will likely result.
Equities should therefore fail to hold these gains.” – Peter Chatwell, head of multi-asset strategy at Mizuho International
* “Stocks are likely rallying because this is exactly what was priced in … The messaging is yes, this is hot, yes, we knew this — and that’s why the market is now able to move onto the next thing that it frets about and that’s the message that we get from the Fed.” – Art Hogan, chief markets strategist at National Securities
* “The market doesn’t like uncertainty and this morning’s muted reaction or rally is likely the result of two things: (1) Thursday’s dip presented another buying opportunity, and (2) the news on inflation was fairly locked in and certain to be high, at or near that 6.7 expectation.” – Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer and co-founder of Defiance ETFs
* “Many have felt the effects of inflation in their day-to-day, so this likely isn’t a huge shocker to the market … Though with all systems go on the labor market front, and inflation running white-hot, the Fed is likely feeling the pressure to act.” – Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial

Among company moves, Oracle Corp. shares surged after the software firm’s sales beat estimates, while Moderna Inc. tumbled after results from its experimental seasonal flu shot appeared similar to another vaccine on the market. In Europe, Daimler AG’s trucks division gained in its first trading day as the storied German manufacturer completed a historic spinoff.  Separately, China Evergrande Group Chairman Hui Ka Yan was forced to sell pledged shares in the company, according to disclosures that came a day after the developer was officially labeled a defaulter for the first time.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1317
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3267
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.44 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.49%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.74%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $72.01 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,782.90 an ounce
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Denitsa Tsekova, Natalia Kniazhevich, Cecile Gutscher and Abigail Moses.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one. –Bruce Lee, 1940-1973.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 9, 2000, the United States Supreme Court voted, 5 to 4, to stop the vote counting in Florida, ending Vice President Al Gore’s presidential hopes. Go to article »

2019: World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from all major sporting events – including 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 football World Cup om Qatar – for manipulating laboratory data.

Pantone unveils ‘Very Peri’ as its Color of the Year for 2022.   Let’s all have a mellow purple kind of year!

Real Christmas trees may be better for your mental health than fake ones.  Tell that to the millions of pine needles collecting on the floor. 
 
Or, hear me out, let’s try a different extreme sport! It’s called “standing on the ground and being very safe.”

Reviewed: the worst Michelin-starred restaurant ever. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
The International Space Station passes the crescent moon as seen from Washington DC
CREDIT: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako look at traditional crafts at the Imperial Palace before the empress’s 58th birthday
CREDIT: Reuters
The visual theatre troupe Mummenschanz, known as the Mumms, perform their stage show 50 Years at Theater 11
CREDIT: Michael Buholzer/EPA

Market Closes for December 9^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35754.69	-0.06
		–%
S&P 500	4667.45	-33.76
		-0.72%
NASDAQ	15517.37	-269.62 -1.71%
TSX	20925.49	-151.86
		-0.72%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28725.47	-135.15
		-0.47%
HANG SENG	24254.86	+257.99
		+1.08%
SENSEX	58807.13	+157.45
		+0.27%
FTSE 100*	7321.26	-15.79 -0.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.512	1.593
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.826	1.883
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4990	1.5161
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8763	1.8887

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7867	0.7904
US $	1.2711	1.2651
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4355	0.6966
US $	1.1292	0.8855

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1783.80	1781.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	70.94	72.36

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1906, Grace Murray Hopper (nee Grace Brewster Murray) was born in New York City. She later served in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral, and invented the Cobol computer language, one of the first software programs enabling computers to be used by non-mathematicians. She also invented the term “bug” for a glitch when, in 1945, she opened a malfunctioning computer and captured a moth inside that had been causing electrical relays to fail.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities slumped for the second day as global markets fell under the weight of potential omicron variant restrictions. The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 0.7 percent, or 151.86 to 20,925.49 in Toronto, the most in more than a week. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.2 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 10.2 percent after announcing plans to acquire gold and precious metals mining company Great Bear Resources Ltd. Today, 184 of 233 shares fell, while 45 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 20 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 4.3 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 1.4 percent
* The index advanced 19 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 21 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and fell 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5 percent 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 14.46 percent compared with 14.48 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.99 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | -47.3104| -1.7| 2/21
* Materials | -40.8487| -1.7| 10/44
* Information Technology | -29.7716| -1.2| 1/14
* Industrials | -10.0650| -0.4| 9/21
* Communication Services | -9.4252| -0.9| 0/7
* Financials | -6.2308| -0.1| 4/23
* Health Care | -6.1149| -3.4| 2/7
* Utilities | -4.6445| -0.5| 2/14
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.6885| -0.5| 2/11
* Real Estate | -1.7742| -0.3| 6/16
* Consumer Staples | 8.0013| 1.0| 7/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -18.1500| -1.2| -37.8| 32.1
* Enbridge | -8.5750| -1.3| 4.1| 18.0
* Kinross Gold | -6.6550| -10.2| 237.4| -28.4
* Dollarama | 2.3770| 2.1| 54.6| 12.7
* Bank of Nova Scotia| 2.8670| 0.4| 10.8| 24.7
* Couche-Tard | 5.5780| 1.8| 532.6| 20.6

US
By Emily Graffeo and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell and bonds gained as the economic threat of restrictions to control the new omicron variant outweighed optimism about the efficacy of vaccines.  Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 retreated, ending a three-day rally, as losses in consumer discretionary and real estate stocks led the market lower.  Treasuries pared back a rally after a lackluster sale of 30-year bonds. Meanwhile, the Cboe Volatility Index inched higher toward 22. The cost to contain the omicron strain is being tallied up amid mounting concern it will crimp the economic rebound. New work-from-home guidance in the U.K., for instance, could cost the country’s economy £2 billion ($2.6 billion) a month, according to Bloomberg Economics. A study has found omicron is 4.2 times more transmissible than the delta variant in its early stages. “Ultimately the issue from a health perspective is that even if Omicron does prove to be less severe — which the initial indications so far have pointed to — a rise in transmissibility could offset that,” said a team of Deutsche Bank strategists including Jim Reid. That could mean that more people are in the hospital, “even if a lower proportion of them are severely affected.”
The global equity rally faces further potential road bumps ahead from U.S. consumer inflation numbers on Friday and a Federal Reserve meeting next week that may provide clues on the pace of tapering and interest rate increases. The dollar rose Thursday after a report showed applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits declined to the lowest level since 1969. However, economists flagged difficulties in seasonal adjustments to arrive at that figure. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims climbed. “With jobless claims hitting the lowest level in over five decades, this is a loud and clear sign that we’re making strides toward a full economic recovery despite some bumps along the way,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “As full employment seemingly becomes a reality, the Fed will be forced to focus more on taming inflation, which has no doubt been an ongoing concern for investors.”
In Europe, stocks reversed earlier gains to trade slightly lower. Among individual moves, Electricite de France SA fell with the government considering a cap on regulated power tariffs to help curb soaring electricity prices. Meanwhile, UniCredit SpA rose after saying it will return at least 16 billion euros ($18.1 billion) to shareholders by 2024. In Asia, China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. officially defaulted on their dollar debt, while the People’s Bank of China raised its foreign currency reserve requirement ratio for a second time this year after the yuan climbed to the highest since 2018. 

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* U.S. CPI Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1294
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3218
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 113.45 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.49%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to -0.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.76%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6% to $70.47 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,775.90 an ounce
–With assistance from Abigail Moses and Andreea Papuc.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

One important key to success is self-confidence.  An important key to self-confidence is preparation. –Artur 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
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
80 years ago today. Go to article »

December 8, 2020: The UK begins vaccinating for COVD-19 using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Diego Rivera, painter, b. 1886
Mary, Queen of Scots, b.1542
Horace, b.65 BC.
Jim Morrison, singer, b. 1943.

A third Pfizer shot might take care of omicron.

Museum T. rex gets a nice Christmas sweater. (h/t Ellen Kominers) 

Camels kicked out of Saudi beauty contest for using Botox. (h/t Mike Smedley)

Gravitational waves should permanently scar space-time.

Here’s what people Googled in 2021.  Is there anything more intimate, more revealing than someone’s Google search history? Probably not. 

These are the words we mispronounced the most this year.  If you still have trouble with “Chipotle,” you’re not alone

These are the best bars in the world for 2021.  Every single one of these looks like something you’d see in a James Bond film.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Nasa spacewalker Kayla Barron is pictured during a six-hour and 32 minute spacewalk to replace a failed antenna system on the International Space Station’s Port-1 truss structure.
CREDIT: Mark Garcia/Nasa
People walk on white streets after the first snowfalls in Italy.
CREDIT: Tino Romano/EPA
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel and her replacement, Olaf Scholz, attend the official handing-over ceremony.
CREDIT: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Market Closes for December 8^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35754.75	+35.32
		+0.10%
S&P 500	4701.21	+14.46
		+0.31%
NASDAQ	15786.99	+100.07 +0.64%
TSX	21077.35	-85.30
		-0.40%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28860.62	+405.02
		+1.42%
HANG SENG	23996.87	+13.21
		+0.06%
SENSEX	58649.68	+1016.03
		+1.76%
FTSE 100*	7337.05	-2.85 -0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.593	1.582
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.883	1.829
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5161	1.4733
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8887	1.8025

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7904	0.7908
US $	1.2651	1.2646
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4350	0.6969
US $	1.1343	0.8816

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1781.35	1778.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.36	72.05

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1941, as the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor filtered through the market, the S&P 500 dropped 4.37%, one of its worst-one day declines ever.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as companies in the technology sector tumbled. The Bank of Canada maintained its rate, but cautioned that the omicron variant could cause continued uncertainty amid rising inflation. The S&P TSX Composite Index dropped 0.4% at 21,077.35 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.4%. Nuvei Corp. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 40.4%, after a Spruce Point Capital short report said the shares could decline further from current levels. Today, 126 of 233 shares fell, while 100 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 21%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 5%
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.3% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 21.9% above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3% 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 19 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.48% compared with 14.84% in the previous session and the average of 10.80% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -30.1544| -1.2| 3/12
* Industrials | -26.0351| -1.1| 10/20
* Energy | -18.4405| -0.7| 6/15
* Financials | -13.4751| -0.2| 7/20
* Communication Services | -6.5871| -0.7| 3/3
* Consumer Discretionary | -5.1060| -0.7| 0/13
* Utilities | -3.1230| -0.3| 6/10
* Real Estate | 0.7828| 0.1| 16/8
* Health Care | 2.2698| 1.3| 8/1
* Consumer Staples | 6.7374| 0.9| 6/7
* Materials | 7.8105| 0.3| 35/17
================================================================
| | | | YTD
|Index Points| | Volume VS | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change |20D AVG (%)| (%)
================================================================
* Nuvei | -21.4200| -40.4| 1,190.9| -6.0
* Brookfield Asset Management | -6.7850| -0.9| -56.3| 41.4
* Royal Bank of Canada | -6.7270| -0.5| -25.8| 24.0
* Nutrien | 2.2190| 0.6| -18.8| 46.0
* TD Bank | 6.9550| 0.6| -11.5| 32.7
* Couche-Tard | 10.6100| 3.8| 5,931.3| 18.4

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose Wednesday with the S&P 500 securing its biggest three-day rally of the year. The benchmark index gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.4% as fears over the omicron virus variant eased after Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said early lab studies showed a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine neutralizes the variant. “Risk assets are recovering this week after a bout of turbulence sparked by the emergence of the new virus variant,” said Art Hogan, chief markets strategist at National Securities. “Early studies showed vaccines provide a partial shield against the new variant. So far, omicron cases haven’t overwhelmed hospitals and vaccine developments are encouraging.” Travel shares gained with airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. higher.
However, losses in consumer staples and financials weighed on the market as technology shares struggled for direction. Wall Street analysts expect the market to remain volatile until there is more clarity on the omicron variant’s threat to the economy, which if low, should allow the market’s focus to return to the  Federal Reserve.  “If omicron concerns continue to fade, attention will shift back to the Fed and the outlook for growth,” Dennis DeBusschere of 22V Research wrote in a note to clients.  “We’re really in a new regime here,” Alicia Levine, head of equities and capital markets advisory at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, said of the Fed’s hawkish tilt on Bloomberg TV.  “And with that comes implications for asset classes.”
Treasury yields advanced, with the 10 year rising to 1.52%. The dollar dipped and crude oil gained. Meanwhile, in Europe, stocks fell 0.6% with market sentiment hurt by reports that the U.K. is close to announcing new curbs, including vaccine passports for large venues and an order to work from home. “All of this whipsawing around, I don’t think you have an easy time pointing to one particular news item each day over the last several days that’s caused it,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors. “We’ve gone 20 months and still have not had a correction, and I think that is fueling some volatility.”

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks Thursday
* Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks Thursday
* China CPI, PPI, money supply, new yuan loans, aggregate financing Thursday
* U.S. CPI Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.7% to $1.1348
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3230
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.67 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to -0.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 0.78%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $72.60 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Peyton Forte, Emily Graffeo and Cecile Gutscher.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

A man can stand a lot as long as he can stand himself.  -Axel Munthe, 1857-1949.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II.
More than 2,300 Americans were killed. Go to article »

2020~ Coca-Cola named the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter in annual brand audit by Break Free from Plastic
Over 90% of the global ocean’s plastic waste comes from just 10 rivers, 8 of which are in Asia and 2 of which are in Africa.543

“Face with tears of joy” is 2021’s most used emoji.

Instagram will now tell users when to take a break from using the app.  It could be a helpful reminder, or people could just keep scrolling anyway — just a  little guiltier afterward. 

The United Arab Emirates has rescheduled the weekend.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Snow blankets the roofs of the historic old town in North Rhine-Westphalia
CREDIT: Federico Gambarini/AP
Eliza Homer (right), four, enjoys the Winter Glow outdoor light trail at Three Counties showground in Malvern, UK
CREDIT: Jacob King/PA
A boy fishes at sunset at Bang Tao beach, on Phuket’s west coast
CREDIT: Jorge Silva/Reuters

Market Closes for December 7^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35719.43	+492.40
		+1.40%
S&P 500	4686.75	+95.08
		+2.07%
NASDAQ	15686.92	+461.77 +3.03%
TSX	21162.65	+301.55
		+1.45%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	28455.60	+528.23
		+1.89%
HANG SENG	23983.66	+634.28
		+2.72%
SENSEX	57633.65	+886.51
		+1.56%
FTSE 100*	7339.90	+107.62 +1.49%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.582	1.525
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.829	1.798
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4733	1.4342
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.8025	1.7704

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7908	0.7838
US $	1.2646	1.2758
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4250	0.7017
US $	1.1268	0.8875

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1778.65	1767.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.05	69.49

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1880, Ferdinand de Lesseps’ Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, organized to finance construction of the Panama Canal, went public in Paris at 500 francs, equivalent to around $100, a share. De Lesseps bribed the French press with more than $300,000 in slush money, so the newspapers were enthusiastic—and the public went wild, as more than 100,000 people bought into the IPO. Within eight years the company collapsed and the shares became worthless.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks jumped to the highest in more than a week as companies in the information technology and energy sectors climbed amid waning omicron fears.  The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.4 percent, or 301.55 to 21,162.65 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.5 percent. Real Matters Inc. had the largest increase, rising 15.9 percent. Today, 198 of 233 shares rose, while 32 fell; all sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain three times. The next day, it advanced twice for an average 0.6 percent and declined 0.6 percent once
* This year, the index rose 21 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 5.4 percent
* The index advanced 20 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.9 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 22.3 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.4 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5 percent 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 rose to 14.84 percent compared with 14.52 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.63 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 94.5938| 4.1| 13/2
* Energy | 60.3528| 2.2| 22/1
* Financials | 57.7508| 0.9| 28/0
* Materials | 26.8066| 1.1| 47/7
* Industrials | 23.3252| 0.9| 25/5
* Consumer Discretionary | 16.4542| 2.2| 12/1
* Consumer Staples | 6.7580| 0.9| 11/2
* Utilities | 6.6018| 0.7| 12/3
* Health Care | 5.0975| 3.0| 9/0
* Real Estate | 3.4538| 0.5| 17/7
* Communication Services | 0.3523| 0.0| 2/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | 79.1000| 5.5| 33.2| 33.9
* Brookfield Asset
* Management | 14.2800| 1.9| -30.4| 42.7
* Royal Bank of Canada | 12.4700| 1.0| -29.4| 24.6
* CGI Inc | -0.8210| -0.5| -25.8| 8.5
* Barrick Gold | -1.1110| -0.4| 29.7| -17.4
* Waste Connections | -2.2250| -0.7| 22.9| 31.1

US
By Vildana Hajric and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks staged the biggest rally in nine months, with major averages climbing at least 2% on optimism the omicron variant won’t derail global growth. Treasuries fell, sending two-year yields to the highest since March 2020. Technology shares that led last week’s decline paced the rebound. The Nasdaq 100 Index surged 3%, an ETF that tracks newly public companies jumped 5% and small caps climbed 2%. The S&P 500 erased all the losses suffered after Jerome Powell’s hawkish tilt a week ago and was just 0.3% below its last close before the omicron variant rocked markets. The Cboe Volatility Index plunged five points to 22.
The dollar dipped and crude rose above $71 a barrel in New York. Risk assets are recovering this week after initial data showed the surge in omicron cases hasn’t overwhelmed hospitals and as China moved to expand support for the economy. Among the riskiest assets, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of non-profitable tech firms jumped nearly 6% Tuesday, clawing back almost half of last week’s losses.  “The market mood has been notably more upbeat this week after several health experts across the globe, including the U.S.’s Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said omicron symptoms appear milder, so far,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “Whilst it is still early days, the encouraging news sparked bargain hunters into action.
Who would want to miss out on the possibility that a milder variant could accelerate natural immunity to Covid?” On the data front, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed while third quarter productivity fell. Private consumption was the largest contributor to the euro area’s most recent economic expansion. U.K. house prices hit an all-time high. And China’s exports grew faster than expected to a record on external demand and an easing power crunch. Additionally, research showed that a Covid-19 vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Canada’s Medicago Inc. was effective against multiple variants of the disease. Congress also reached a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. “This morning’s rally is being fueled by the belief that the omicron variant will not create many problems for the global economy and that China has pledged measures to support economic growth,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “If those were the reasons why the market has seen such a big increase in volatility since Thanksgiving, we’d agree the worst is likely over and that investors should jump back into the market with both feet.”
However, equity markets could still be in for further turbulence amid new restrictions to stem the spread of omicron and resurfacing geopolitical tensions. The threat of sanctions still loom if Russia invades Ukraine, following a call between U.S. and Russian leaders Tuesday. China threatened the U.S. with retaliation against its decision to declare a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that U.S. reliance on foreign supply chains has proved a vulnerability, boosting policies that may be considered protectionist. With possible headwinds ahead, George Pearkes, global macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group, said the tech rally “feels really extreme.”  “Mostly this just feels like a counter-trend move after some big negative catalysts and sentiment challenges hit the market over the past couple of weeks, but I’m surprised it’s as large as it is,” he said.

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* Reserve Bank of India rate decision Wednesday
* Olaf Scholz set to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor Wednesday
* European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks at a conference Wednesday
* Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks Thursday
* Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks Thursday
* China CPI, PPI, money supply, new yuan loans, aggregate financing Thursday
* U.S. CPI Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 2.1% as of 4:05 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 2.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1266
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3239
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.54 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 1.47%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.38%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.73%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.1% to $71.65 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,785.80 an ounce
–With assistance from Abigail Moses, Andreea Papuc, Shen Hong and Katie Greifeld.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.  I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have. -Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1965.

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

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

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