December 13, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Luciadagen: Lucia’s Day, Sweden

1642: Dutch navigator Abel Tasman first sights South Island, New Zealand.
2007: Shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, approved a takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.  Go to article »

Christopher Plummer, b. 1929.
Jamie Foxx, b. 1967.

New Zealand is banning tobacco.

How to see the stunning Geminid meteor shower light up the sky on Dec. 14: The annual Geminids meteor shower reaches its peak on Wednesday (Dec. 14).   The peak of the Geminid meteor shower offers skywatchers the opportunity to view what is regarded as the most consistent and reliable meteor shower of the year while at its best  — as long as they are willing to brave the frigid weather of mid-December.  Full Story: Live Science (12/12)

Nuclear fusion reactor ‘breakthrough’ is significant, but light-years away from being useful:  Scientists have just announced a breakthrough in nuclear fusion ignition: For the first time the heart of a powerful fusion reactor has briefly generated more energy than was put into it.  But experts are urging caution, saying that the breakthrough, while hugely significant, is still a long way from safe, limitless nuclear energy.
Full Story: Live Science (12/13)

Notre Dame’s spire had 2 hidden coffins beneath it. Now, scientists know who was buried there.  The day after the world watched Notre Dame Cathedral burn three years ago, archaeologists were called to survey the damage; they found two unusual lead sarcophagi dating to centuries ago, but it was anyone’s guess who was buried within them.  Now, researchers have announced their findings: the sarcophagi contain the remains of two wealthy men, one ecclesiastical who may have had the “disease of kings,” and the other young and noble, but whose remains hinted at a hard life. Full Story: Live Science (12/13)

See Mars ‘peek out’ from behind the moon in stunning eclipse photo:  An awe-inspiring new image has captured the moment a tiny and unusually vibrant Mars rose from behind the moon’s crater-covered surface during a recent eclipse.  The Red Planet was temporarily obscured from Earth’s view by the passing moon during an event known as a lunar occultation, which occurs roughly twice a year and lasts for around an hour.
Full Story: Live Science (12/13)

Crispr just cured a girl’s cancer. — Lisa Jarvis
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Nagykanizsa, Hungary
Morning fog above a field during sunrise
Photograph: György Varga/EPA

Frankfurt, Germany
The sun rises over the frozen trees of the Taunus region
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

​​​​​​​Rabat, Morocco
Boys play football on a beach ahead of the country’s football team’s first ever semi-final in the Fifa World Cup due to take place tomorrow against France in Qatar
Photograph: Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP
Market Closes for December 13^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
India’s imports of Russian oil are set to hit a record this month, driven by a deeper discount on the country’s crude. Russian crude loadings bound for India rose to 1.56 million barrels this month so far, accounting for over half of Russia’s exports, according to Kpler data. That’s up from 1.16 million last month.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 20,023.46 in Toronto.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%.
OceanaGold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 11.6%.
Today, 163 of 237 shares rose, while 73 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 5.7%, poised for the worst year since 2018
* This quarter, the index rose 8.6%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* The index declined 3.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 15% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.9% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 12% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and fell 0.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.17t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.61% compared with 15.17% in the previous session and the average of 16.42% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 42.7409| 1.2| 29/9
Materials | 34.6250| 1.4| 42/8
Real Estate | 5.4396| 1.1| 20/2
Consumer Staples | 5.4344| 0.6| 8/3
Utilities | 4.2158| 0.5| 13/3
Information Technology | 3.2971| 0.3| 8/6
Industrials | 0.8678| 0.0| 17/10
Health Care | -0.0626| -0.1| 3/4
Communication Services | -2.3753| -0.2| 2/5
Consumer Discretionary | -4.9019| -0.7| 6/8
Financials | -85.5352| -1.4| 15/15
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | 11.2200| 1.9| 31.3| 46.2
Barrick Gold | 10.8500| 3.9| 44.3| -1.6
Suncor Energy | 7.6960| 2.0| -32.5| 33.2
Bank of Montreal | -10.4000| -1.8| 104.7| -9.8
RBC | -18.9100| -1.5| 42.9| -3.0
TD Bank | -31.1000| -2.7| 73.3| -8.6
US
By Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — US stocks advanced on Tuesday as investors mulled whether latest data showing prices rose less than forecast last month would prompt the Federal Reserve to alter its aggressive approach to battling inflation.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 capped a volatile session with a gain after data indicated the worst of inflation has likely passed.
While the soft consumer price index data was briefly celebrated with a surge in equities, the indexes pared those gains as investors turned their focus to what the latest numbers mean for the Fed’s path of rates.
Treasuries surged, with the policy-sensitive two-year yield dropping as much as 24 basis points after the CPI data released.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s closely watched measure of services prices that excludes energy and rents continued to moderate.
While the Fed is largely expected to raise rates by half a percentage point Wednesday, investors will be watching what officials say for further policy clues.
Swap markets are now favoring a quarter-point hike as early as the Fed’s February meeting.
Still, some investors are cautious about overstating the latest CPI print.
“While the war against inflation is turning, we are a long way off declaring victory and the Fed will keep its hawkish stance for a while longer, even if it does potentially force a recession,” said Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot.
Following the Fed, the European Central Bank will announce its rate decision Thursday.
Markets will also contend with decisions from the Bank of England and monetary authorities in Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Key events this week:
* FOMC rate decision and Fed Chair news conference, Wednesday
* China medium-term lending, property investment, retail sales, industrial production, surveyed jobless, Thursday
* ECB rate decision and ECB President Lagarde briefing, Thursday
* Rate decisions for UK BOE, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thursday
* US cross-border investment, business inventories, empire manufacturing, retail sales, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global PMI, CPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.9%
* The euro rose 0.9% to $1.0629
* The British pound rose 0.7% to $1.2360
* The Japanese yen rose 1.5% to 135.62 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.3% to $17,750.42
* Ether rose 3.4% to $1,318.35
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined nine basis points to 3.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.93%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 3.30%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.2% to $75.50 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1.7% to $1,822.90 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Natalia Kniazhevich and Michael Msika.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity. -Johann Lavater, 1741-1801.

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