December 3, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carlos Montoya, guitarist, b. 1903
Joseph Conrad, author, b. 1857.
Darryl Hannah, actress, b. 1961
Julianne Moore, actress, b. 1961.
On Dec. 3, 1984, more than 4,000 people died after a cloud of gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India. Go to article »

Astronomers are watching the birth of a comet just past Jupiter. –Bloomberg.

Woman, 102, lived through the 1918 flu and beat coronavirus … twice.  GIVE HER A BREAK! Or a medal or something! –CNN.

The best car our reviewer drove in 2020, and the runners up. –Bloomberg.

From the late-night hosts:
“It’s not a great look for your presidency when your biggest accomplishment is ‘most family members pardoned.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“It’s pretty crazy, the last person who needed pardons for their whole family was Charles Manson.” — JIMMY FALLON

“On the left, you see all of the potential pardon-getters, and on the right, there’s a list of crimes, like money laundering, tax evasion and snorting coke off the last living black rhino. You have to match the person to their crime, and there are no wrong answers.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Meanwhile, Mike Pence is also asking for a pardon, for the time he accidentally glanced at a picture of Kate Upton.” — JIMMY FALLON

“It’s not a great look for your presidency when your biggest accomplishment is ‘most family members pardoned.’” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A full moon is seen behind buildings at night in Ashkelon, southern Israel 
CREDIT: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN

Guests enjoy the atmosphere during the Christmas at Kew Gardens press evening at Kew Gardens  in London, England
CREDIT: CHRIS HACKSON/GETTY IMAGES

Guardia di Finanza Mountain Rescue soldiers with rescue and search dogs, during a patrol at high altitude near the summit craters of the volcano Etna 
CREDIT: FABRIZIO VILLA/GETYY IMAGES

Snow cannons blow snow on the hills in the Abtenau ski resort, Austria. Germany is seeking an EU-wide ban on ski tourism over Christmas to halt coronavirus transmissions, but many countries including neighbouring Austria have voiced strong opposition
CREDIT: VARVARA QNDL/APA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for December 3^rd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, Temco Service Industries, a tiny building-maintenance firm, became one of the oddest beneficiaries of the internet stock bubble.  Temco’s shares went bonkers, soaring 126% in a few minutes on record volume.  The reason: Ticketmaster Online-City Search Inc. went public that same day under the ticker symbol TMCS, which some traders confuse with Temco’s ticker symbol TMCO. 
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities gained Thursday but came off their high late in the session after a report that Pfizer Inc. will deliver fewer doses of its vaccine this year than earlier expected.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2%, with nine of eleven sectors higher. Tech and materials retreated while communication services led the advance.
Global crude oil prices surged to the highest since early March after OPEC+ agreed on a compromise deal to gradually ease production limits beginning early next year. Gold rose on a weaker U.S. dollar. Canada’s resilient housing market is proving a boon for Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, helping their domestic banking franchises step up earnings.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,841.46 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.2869 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.2 basis points to 0.738%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 39.81 to 17,398.02 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. WSP Global Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.6 percent.
Today, 142 of 222 shares rose, while 77 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was unchanged
* This quarter, the index rose 7.9 percent
* This year, the index rose 2 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC  Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 9.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.3 on a trailing basis and 23.4 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$2.66t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.43 percent compared with 15.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.36 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 15.0010| 0.8| 15/8
Industrials | 12.5695| 0.6| 19/8
Communication Services | 10.3416| 1.2| 5/1
Utilities | 6.5536| 0.8| 15/1
Consumer Discretionary | 6.1249| 0.9| 6/6
Consumer Staples | 5.1739| 0.8| 11/0
Financials | 4.7959| 0.1| 15/11
Real Estate | 2.4548| 0.4| 19/7
Health Care | 2.0292| 0.9| 8/2
Information Technology | -12.1625| -0.7| 9/1
Materials | -13.0886| -0.5| 20/32
US
By Vildana Hajric and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated from record highs just before the close of trading to finish little changed after a report briefly spurred confusion over the Covid vaccine roll out.
The S&P 500 ended in the red, while the Nasdaq Composite managed to close at an all-time high. The benchmark S&P spent most of the session at a record before a report that identified supply chain problems behind a previously disclosed slowdown in Pfizer Inc.’s production plans for its vaccine. Sentiment also weakened after California said it will lock down its economy if critical-care units reach capacity. Small caps outperformed as the reopening rotation continued.
“We continue to see the push-pull of short-term versus long-term,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank, said by phone. Investors had focused much of the session on a bipartisan stimulus proposal endorsed by Democratic leaders as a basis for negotiations is luring increased interest from Republicans, raising the chances for a deal by year-end. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that it was “heartening” that Democrats embraced a smaller price tag for a stimulus package but gave no indication he was willing to raise his own offer to get a deal. “The market continues to keep its fingers crossed for a stimulus package, no matter what the size,” said CFRA Research’s Chief Investment Strategist Sam Stovall. “Investors just want to know if Biden can ‘reach across the aisle’ and sway the Republicans. That would offer optimism for additional actions from a working relationship between the parties once he is sworn in.”
While markets advanced up in Asia, European shares were mixed. Britain’s pound more than recouped Wednesday’s drop as traders took in stride France’s threat to veto a Brexit deal. The dollar added to its slump this week that has sent the euro, Australian dollar and the Korean won to their highest levels versus the greenback in more than two years, and the Swiss franc to its strongest since 2015. Oil edged higher as OPEC+ reached an agreement to ease its oil-output cuts next year more gradually than previously planned, giving a fragile market more time to absorb the extra supply.
These are some key events coming up:
* 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.
* German factory orders for October are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined 0.1% to 3,666.72 as of 4:11 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to 29,969.52, the highest in more than a week.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2% to 12,377.18, the highest on record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 391.72.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 0.3% to 628.29, the highest on record.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5% to 1,130.40, the  lowest in more than two years.
* The euro increased 0.3% to $1.2146, the strongest in more than two years.
* The British pound climbed 0.7% to $1.3454, the strongest in more than two years.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 103.87 per dollar, the strongest in almost two weeks on the largest rise in four weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 0.91%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped four basis points to -0.56%, the largest decrease in more than 10 weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.322%, the first retreat in a week.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.9% to $45.67 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
* Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,841.53 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
–With assistance from David Wilson, Kamaron Leach and Claire Ballentine.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time.
                                -M. Scott Peck, 1936-2005

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