December 19, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Chanukah.
1777:  Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter. Go to article »

Pope Francis orders Vatican to return Parthenon sculptures to Greece.  These 2,500-year-old sculptures have been held in the Vatican for more than a century. The pope is now giving them to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Cecily Strong bids farewell to ‘Saturday Night Live’.  The actress’ departure is another gut punch to the show’s lineup. Watch some of the emotional moments from her farewell here.

Does gravity make you age more slowly?  Einstein’s theory of general relativity upended humanity’s understanding of the universe more than a century ago, and since then, scientists have discovered that the steady march of time is anything but steady. Among the haunting implications of general relativity is that time passes more quickly at the top of every staircase in the world than it does at the bottom, because the closer an object is to Earth, the stronger the impacts of gravity are.  If time is linked to gravity, does that mean that people on top of mountains age faster than people at sea level do? Does increased gravity actually make people age more slowly?
Full Story: Live Science (12/17)

Grapefruit-size fireball from mysterious Oort Cloud could rewrite the history of the solar system: A dazzling fireball that ended its cosmic journey over central Alberta, Canada could change astronomers’ understanding of how the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago.  Caught on camera on Feb. 22, 2021, the grapefruit-size rocky meteoroid is thought to have come from the Oort Cloud, a reservoir of celestial objects that encircles the entire solar system and separates it from interstellar space.  Full Story: Live Science (12/16)

American black bears are evolving to have cinnamon-colored coats, study finds: Some American black bears in the western United States have evolved to have cinnamon-colored fur.  The new hue is likely due to a genetic variant similar to one that causes albinism in humans, a new study finds.  Full Story: Live Science (12/16)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Berlin, Germany
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, speaks during the celebrations of the Hanukkah festival at the Heinz Galinski Jewish elementary school. The eight-day holiday, the Jewish Festival of Lights, marks the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA

Suva, Fiji
A family spends time on the beach as the sun sets
Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Vancouver, Canada
People walk down the middle of a street as snow falls. Temperature are dropping to dangerously cold extremes in some regions of British Columbia as snowfall send tires spinning in parts of Vancouver. Environment Canada says wind chill values are dropping near -40C or colder in the Chilcotin, Cariboo, Prince George and other central British Columbia communities
Photograph: Canadian Press/Rex/Shutterstock
Market Closes for December 19^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1868, at $120 a share, Cornelius Vanderbilt bought 130,000 more shares of the New York Central Railroad, which he already controlled.  Then Vanderbilt convened an emergency evening meeting of the board of directors, who dutifully declared an 80% dividend. That sent the stock up to $165 over the next two days, at which point Vanderbilt dumped his new shares for a $5.5 million profit.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the fourth day, dropping 1.2%, or 242.52 to 19,200.76 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Oct. 25.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as all sectors lost; 215 of 236 shares fell, while 20 rose.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5%. Mag Silver Corp. had the largest drop, falling 11.5%.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 9.5%, poised for the worst year since 2018
* This quarter, the index rose 4.1%
* The index declined 7.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 18% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.6% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 7.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 4.1% in the past 5 days and fell 3.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.7 on a trailing basis and 12.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.14t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.64% compared with 15.32% in the previous session and the average of 15.30% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -55.2314| -0.9| 4/25
Industrials | -49.9133| -1.9| 2/24
Materials | -43.5524| -1.9| 3/47
Energy | -26.2944| -0.8| 5/33
Utilities | -19.1926| -2.2| 0/16
Communication Services | -12.2912| -1.3| 0/6
Information Technology | -11.6580| -1.0| 2/12
Consumer Discretionary | -10.6205| -1.5| 0/15
Real Estate | -8.7579| -1.7| 1/22
Health Care | -3.9362| -5.0| 0/7
Consumer Staples | -1.0802| -0.1| 3/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | -15.2900| -3.5| -12.4| -30.8
Canadian National | -11.9400| -1.7| -20.8| 5.3
RBC | -11.5400| -0.9| -8.7| -5.6
Cenovus Energy | 1.1460| 0.5| -9.0| 57.7
Brookfield Asset | | | |
Management | 2.7310| 3.0| 37.3|n/a
Canadian Natural Resources | 6.0440| 1.1| 113.8| 38.7
US
By Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — US stocks dropped for a fourth session as traders assessed the Federal Reserve’s path next year after central bank officials vowed to keep raising rates until they’re confident inflation is coming down meaningfully.
The S&P 500 closed at its lowest level in more than a month, dragged by declines in big-tech firms.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid 1.4%.
Treasuries fell, led by longer-dated securities, as traders speculated about the potential for a hawkish pivot from the Bank of Japan.
The benchmark 10-year yield rose the most since October.
The dollar wavered as investors weighed the Fed’s rate outlook ahead of fresh economic data this week.
Investors are still on the edge after recent remarks from  the Fed and other hawkish central banks across the globe.
Risk assets have taken a hit since US policymakers last week signaled a peak rate that was above market expectations.
Sentiment remained sour after former New York Fed President and Bloomberg Opinion columnist William Dudley told Bloomberg Television on Monday that optimistic markets could only make the central bank tighten even more.
European Central Bank Governing Council Member and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel saying it will take some time until inflation slows to the central bank’s 2% target also dampened the mood on Monday.
“Those who were in the camp of a year-end rally are now second-guessing their investment thesis,” wrote JC O’Hara, chief market technician at MKM Partners. “The markets may have placed a little too much faith in Santa Claus and the rally he typically brings.”
But some investors are looking past fears of an economic recession triggered by higher interest rates, and are betting instead that inflation might be peaking, which would allow the Fed and its peers some leeway in their tightening policy.
“I’m kind of more in the camp of they hike in February, and I do think they’ll hike again in March, but that’s probably it,” Matt Brill, head of US investment grade and senior portfolio manager at Invesco, said on Bloomberg Television. “We’re 90%-95% of the way done here. I think the floor has sort of been set and the worst is certainly behind us.”
Meanwhile, US homebuilder sentiment sank in December to a level not seen in over a decade outside of the pandemic, amid high mortgage rates and construction costs.
Earlier, global equity investors were somewhat heartened by a vow from China’s top leaders to boost the economy next year by reviving consumption and supporting the private sector.
Oil climbed. 
Key events this week:
* China loan prime rates, Tuesday
* Bank of Japan interest rate decision, Tuesday
* US housing starts, Tuesday
* EIA Crude Oil Inventory Report, Wednesday
* US existing home sales, US Conference Board consumer confidence, Wednesday
* US GDP, initial jobless claims, US Conf. Board leading index, Thursday
* US consumer income, new home sales, US durable goods, PCE deflator, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, 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 1.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0604
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2144
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 137.01 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $16,594.34
* Ether fell 0.5% to $1,176.27
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 11 basis points to 3.59%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.20%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 17 basis points to 3.50%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $75.65 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,796.30 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Sujata Rao.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
You have your whole future ahead of you.  Perfection doesn’t happen right away. –Haruki Murakami, b. 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