December 11, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December 11, 1792: French King Louis XVI goes on trial, accused of high treason and crimes against the state during the French Revolution.
December 11, 1936: Edward VIII abdicates the Throne to marry Wallis Simpson.
On Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.   Go to article

1946: UNICEF founded.
1882: Fiorello LaGuardia is born in Greenwich Village.

Hector Berlioz, composer, b.1803.
John Kerry, US Senator, b.1943.
Tom Haydn, activist, b. 1939.

Ritually bent Bronze Age sword unearthed in Danish bog is ‘very rare find’
The sword, which has iron rivets in its handle, may be one of the earliest iron artifacts found in Denmark. Read More.

New quantum computing milestone smashes entanglement world record
Researchers have made significant progress in the quest for scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers after entangling the most logical qubits on record. Read More.
Tiger Woods to compete for first time since back surgery
Tiger Woods is set to return to golf for the first time since having back surgery three months ago. Fortunately, he’ll have the support of his son, Charlie, who will also participate in the PNC Championship in Orlando next week.

Dolly Parton explains why her husband doesn’t attend events with her
Country queen Dolly Parton has been married for 58 years but we hardly ever see her famously private husband, Carl Dean. Here’s why the two rarely attend events together.

Man wins Spanish Scrabble championships — yet doesn’t speak Spanish
A New Zealand man hailed as a Scrabble phenom won the Spanish World Scrabble Championships, despite reportedly not speaking the language.

Japanese airline announces baggage delivery service for travelers
Japan Airlines is now offering to drop passengers’ luggage off at their hotels for a fee to combat overcrowding. Should US airlines follow suit?

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Van, Turkey
Young people sledge down a road closed by snow
Photograph: Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu/Getty Images

A family of elephants walk together at the Aberdare National Park after their relocation
Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Sheffield, UK
‘A shop-window reflection of the city’s Christmas fair during its opening weekend.’
Photograph: Robert Mann
Market Closes for December 11, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1941, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in all “enemy securities,” including those from Germany and Japan
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6% at 25,657.70 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.4% on Nov. 21 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.4%.
Novagold Resources Inc. had the largest increase, rising 9.2%.
Today, 130 of 219 shares rose, while 83 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 22%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 6.9%
* The index advanced 26% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7% below its 52-week high on Dec. 9, 2024 and 27.5% above its low on Dec. 13, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.2 on a trailing basis and 17.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.02t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.93% compared with 8.40% in the previous session and the average of 8.45% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 61.9993| 2.0| 37/11
Information Technology | 58.2323| 2.2| 8/2
Energy | 35.8237| 0.8| 34/6
Financials | 31.2696| 0.4| 14/11
Consumer Staples | 3.8143| 0.4| 4/6
Real Estate | 2.0924| 0.4| 11/7
Consumer Discretionary | -1.9547| -0.2| 6/5
Health Care | -2.5200| -3.4| 0/4
Industrials | -10.0112| -0.3| 11/16
Utilities | -10.4670| -1.1| 5/10
Communication Services | -14.9098| -2.3| 0/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 46.6800| 3.4| -25.7| 61.2
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 14.8200| 3.5| -3.6| 70.4
Brookfield Corp | 12.3200| 1.5| -20.3| 60.1
Nutrien | -3.4340| -1.4| 46.8| -9.1
BCE | -4.5410| -1.9| 44.4| -29.4
Canadian National | -6.4860| -1.1| 41.8| -10.5
US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — Investors’ enthusiasm for US technology giants sent stocks higher Wednesday, snapping a two-day slide after a benign inflation report cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep cutting interest rates.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.9% to a record while the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, nearing a recent peak.
Broadcom Inc. led the advance following a report that the chipmaker was working on an AI deal with Apple Inc.
The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks were once again in the pole position, with Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., setting all-time highs.
Wall Street’s optimism comes even as inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank’s target.
The consumer price index rose 0.3% in November for the fourth-straight month, while core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose by the same amount, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed Wednesday.
The core gauge —economists’ preferred number — was up 3.3% from a year before, in line with estimates.
To Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer at Regan Capital, the report “gives the Federal Reserve the green light for a 25 basis point rate cut at the December meeting, as it helps to confirm that we are still making progress on inflation even though it remains sticky.”
Swaps traders are betting on a quarter-point interest rate cut at the December policy meeting while wagers on more than three cuts over the next 12 months remains a key question.
Treasury yields resumed a climb in the afternoon session with the benchmark 10-year rising to 4.27%.
“The details were particularly encouraging for the Fed,” according to Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “From here, there is little ahead of tomorrow’s PPI update that will drive the rates market.”
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Vix, fell below 14 following the data, an indication the market is expecting calm in the near-term.
Stocks and long bonds stand to benefit as fears of a higher inflation print evaporate, according to ClearBridge Investments’ Jeff Schulze.
“The debate for the FOMC next week between cut or skip is over,” Schulze said. “This inflation print should be risk-asset friendly and provide a tailwind to equity markets as we move through one of the strongest seasonal periods of the year.”
The dollar rallied after a report that Chinese leaders are considering allowing their currency to weaken as they brace for higher tariffs under a second Donald Trump presidency.
The Canadian dollar advanced after hovering near a four and a half-year low once policymakers signaled they were ready to slow down on monetary easing.
The Bank of Canada lowered its rate by half a percentage Wednesday, its second straight outsized cut.
Other central banks are also expected to lower rates, and in some cases cut faster and deeper than the Fed.
The European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank are likely to follow suit Thursday.
Meanwhile, China’s two-day Central Economic Work Conference is expected to map out policies for next year, following stimulus signals from top leaders.
In commodities, crude futures rose after a Bloomberg News report that the Biden administration is considering new sanctions on Russia’s oil trade, a move that could tighten the market.
The White House warned that Russia may fire another intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine, after what Moscow said were strikes on its territory with US-supplied weapons. 

Corporate Highlights:
* Apple Inc. is developing a server chip designed especially for artificial intelligence and is working with Broadcom on the chip’s networking technology, the Information reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the project.
* UnitedHealth Group Inc. and CVS Health Corp. were among health-care companies under pressure after Bloomberg reported a bipartisan coalition of US lawmakers has drafted legislation that would force prescription drug middlemen to divest pharmacies they own.
* Hershey Co.’s main owner has rejected a preliminary takeover offer from Mondelez International Inc., people familiar with the matter said, potentially ending a fresh pursuit that would’ve created a food giant with combined sales of almost $50 billion.
* GameStop Corp. shares rise after the videogame retailer reported a surprise third-quarter profit as the company’s cost cutting measures pay dividends.
* Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. shares fall as analysts questioned the probability of Sycamore Partners acquiring the pharmacy chain. On Tuesday, the stock jumped 18% after a report the two sides were in talks over a potential sale.
* PJT Partners Inc.’s chief executive officer said next year could be the second-biggest for mergers and acquisitions in a decade, and his firm has been on an “aggressive” hiring spree to prepare.

Key events this week:
* ECB rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, PPI, Thursday
* Eurozone industrial production, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0495
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2749
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 152.58 per dollar
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to 1.4162
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 4.5% to $101,318.11
* Ether rose 5.3% to $3,833.31
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.27%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.13%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.32%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.5% to $70.30 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $2,716.89 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Sujata Rao, Margaryta Kirakosian, Robert Brand and John Viljoen.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. –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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com