December 1, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December starts on the same day of the week as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year.

1913-Ford Motor company institutes world’s first moving assembly line for the Model T ford..
1955-Rosa Parks arrested.
1891: Basketball created.

Archaeologists discover a massive collection of prehistoric cliff paintings in the Amazon. –Bloomberg.

Witnesses capture images of the Utah monolith being dismantled. -Bloomberg

1913 The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mariana Tsembenhoi, who, at just 19 years old is youngest dancer with the Royal Ballet, dances in the snow which will appear daily in Covent Garden, London, UK, throughout December.
CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A woman sits on a chair in Sircali Canyon during autumn in Karabuk, Turkey. Sircali Canyon, located within the borders of Safranbolu district, famous for its historical houses, is among the places that draw attention with its animal species, forest sea and self-assembled stone terraces.
CREDIT: AHMET OZLER/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Autumnal aerial view of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage, Zijin Mountain, Nanjing city, Jiangsu Province China.
CREDIT: COSTFOTO/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Plumed Basilisk (Basiliscus Plumifrons) from Costa Rica has the ability to run short distances across the water. Thanks to its specially designed feet it has earned this beautiful casquehead Basilisk the nickname ‘Jesus Christ lizard’ or ‘Jesus Lizard’. Usually seen basking in the sun on a rock or tree trunk, when frightened by a potential predator, the Jesus lizard will drop to the water and run across its surface for a few metres (up to 4.5mts).
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH.CO.UK 2020/12/01

Market Closes for December 1^st, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1919, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened for its first day of trading.  Total volume in 45 minutes of trading: Three lots of egg futures.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares gained Tuesday after Monday’s retreat as gold prices advanced while domestic banks began reporting earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6% with materials and financials leading the charge. Pot shares retreated. Gold rebounded from an almost five-month low as the dollar retreated amid strong risk-on sentiment in equity markets. Meanwhile, BlackBerry surged the most ever after the company signed a multiyear agreement with Amazon Web Services to develop and market its “Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform,”  called IVY. Canada’s softer-than-expected third-quarter rebound is not nearly as weak as it looks, Bloomberg economist Andrew Husby said. The undershoot relative to consensus expectations is largely due to inventory and trade contributions, with domestic demand holding up well.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold rose 2.1% to $1,814.54 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.5% to C$1.2937 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 6.6 basis points to 0.737%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 17,296.93 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.2 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 18.7 percent. Today, 137 of 222 shares rose, while 84 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 7.3 percent
* This year, the index rose 1.4 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.5 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 54.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 11 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.63t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.43 percent compared with 15.44 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.35 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 68.8801| 1.3| 22/3
Materials | 60.9792| 2.6| 46/6
Consumer Discretionary | 2.8349| 0.4| 9/4
Industrials | 1.8320| 0.1| 15/13
Energy | 1.6081| 0.1| 9/14
Real Estate | 1.2927| 0.2| 18/8
Consumer Staples | -1.0480| -0.2| 4/7
Communication Services | -3.4950| -0.4| 4/3
Utilities | -6.6066| -0.7| 5/11
Information Technology | -7.6271| -0.4| 4/6
Health Care | -11.9514| -5.4| 1/9

US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks started December by rising to record highs as a renewal of aid talks added to optimism over progress on coronavirus vaccines. The dollar extended its slide to a more than two-year low and Treasury yields jumped. The risk-on mood powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to all-time highs a day after posting double-digit gains last month. Traders continued to bet vaccine news will lead to an economic surge next year. There were also signs that appetite is picking up for a federal spending plan. President-elect Joe Biden urged Congress to pass a relief package. Communication services, financial and information technology were the biggest S&P industry sector gainers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a new proposal for a stimulus package and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he is circulating among Republicans his own revised plan, which has the backing of President Donald Trump.
“Investors have been prepared to look beyond the near-term continued rise in Covid-19 cases in many regions,” said Mark Haefele, UBS Global Wealth Management’s chief investment officer. “They have focused instead on the potential for a return to normal social and economic activity based on the widespread roll out of effective vaccines in the first half of 2021. We see further upside for global equities in this environment, but also expect market leadership to continue to shift.” After a record month for global stocks, there’s no end in sight for the rally that’s been fueled by vaccine breakthroughs. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE have sought regulatory clearance for their Covid-19 vaccine in the European Union and BioNTech said it could start shipping the first doses “within hours” after approval. “People have faith that even though things are very uncertain around the virus in the short term, if they look out six months or a year, it’s credible things will be better,” said Alec Young, chief investment officer at Tactical Alpha LLC. Strong economic data from Asia also added support to the positive mood in markets. Indexes of factory activity in some of North Asia’s biggest export led economies rebounded in November and China’s recovery continues to lift the region.
It’s not all good news though. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cautioned lawmakers that the U.S. economy remains in a damaged and uncertain state during testimony at a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. In other markets, gold advanced. Oil fell as OPEC+ sought more time to reach a deal on production policy. Bitcoin pulled back after almost reaching $20,000 for the first time.
These are some key events coming up:
* Fed’s Powell testifies before Congress again on Wednesday.
* The U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show more Americans headed back to work in November, though at a slower pace than October.

Here are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index advanced 1.1% to 3,662.41 as of 4:02 p.m. New
York time, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 29,823.52, the biggest gain in a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.3% to 12,355.11, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7% to 391.90, the biggest gain in a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 1.2% to 625.45, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.7% to 1,136.59, the lowest in more than two years on the biggest dip in almost four weeks.
The euro surged 1.2% to $1.2075, the strongest in more than two years on the largest jump in about eight months.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.30 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed eight basis points to 0.92%, the highest in almost three weeks on the largest surge in more than three weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield jumped four basis points to -0.53%, the highest in almost three weeks on the biggest surge in more than three weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to 0.347%, the highest in more than two weeks on the largest surge in more than three weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude sank 1.7% to $44.55 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week on the biggest tumble in more than two weeks.
Gold strengthened 2.1% to $1,814.78 an ounce, the largest jump in almost four weeks.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Each person must live their life as a model for others.
                                        -Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

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