December 6, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

December 16, 1773: The Boston Tea Party.  American colonists throw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbour to protest British taxation, an act that sparks the American Revolution.
December 16, 1985: Reputed organized-crime chief Paul Castellano was shot to death outside a New York City restaurant. Go to article.

Ludwig Von Beethoven, composer, b. 1770.
Jane Austen, novelist, b.1775.
Noel Coward, playwright, b.1899
Margaret Mead, anthropologist, b.1901.

1,800-year-old silver amulet could rewrite history of Christianity in the early Roman Empire
A silver amulet found in a 1,800-year-old grave in Germany speaks to the importance — and the risk — of being Christian in Roman times. Read More.

Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth’s surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find
Trillions of tons of hydrogen gas are likely buried in rocks and reservoirs beneath Earth’s surface, but researchers aren’t sure where it is yet. Read More.

James Webb telescope spots more than 100 new asteroids between Jupiter and Mars — and some are heading toward Earth
Astronomers analyzing archival images from JWST have discovered an unexpectedly vast population of the smallest asteroids ever seen in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Read More.

Why Travis Hunter is such a rare talent in college football
One of the rarest qualities in all team sports is the ability to impact a game in multiple ways, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is exactly that.

British pubs are worried they’ll run out of Guinness
Diageo, which owns the Guinness brand, has told some pub owners that it would set allocation limits on its beer to ensure distribution can last through the holiday season.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sydney, Australia
A Santa testing his surf skills before Christmas Day at URBNSURF at Sydney Olympic Park
Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images for URBNSURF

Troon, UK
Kite surfers at South Beach take advantage of the weather in Scotland. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for parts of Scotland lasting until Tuesday, as it forecast 70-100mm of rainfall
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Romford, UK
A Christmas light display at a home on Pettits Lane in Greater London
Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA
Market Closes for December 16, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
🚧 On this day in 1685, under orders from the British Governor General, workmen finished laying out a 36-foot-wide street of stone and dirt in lower Manhattan. The thoroughfare, which ran along a wall, was naturally named Wall Street.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.5%, or 127.08 to 25,147.21 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Nov. 20.
Today, energy stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 159 of 219 shares fell, while 54 rose.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.9%.
Baytex Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.0%.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 20%, poised for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 4.8%
* The index advanced 22% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 28% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.7% below its 52-week high on Dec. 9, 2024 and 22.9% above its low on Feb. 13, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.9% in the past 5 days and rose 1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.8 on a trailing basis and 17.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.98t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.13% compared with 8.01% in the previous session and the average of 8.39% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -57.2423| -1.3| 3/37
Materials | -39.6587| -1.3| 10/39
Communication Services | -23.0255| -3.7| 0/5
Industrials | -12.2182| -0.4| 6/20
Consumer Staples | -3.3153| -0.3| 4/6
Utilities | -2.7625| -0.3| 6/9
Consumer Discretionary | -2.3375| -0.3| 3/8
Real Estate | -1.5906| -0.3| 4/16
Health Care | -0.4670| -0.6| 1/3
Financials | 4.9412| 0.1| 14/10
Information Technology | 10.5913| 0.4| 3/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | -12.3800| -1.9| 52.3| 1.3
Barrick Gold | -7.2500| -2.5| -2.3| -2.6
Enbridge | -7.0220| -0.8| -3.0| 24.2
Manulife Financial | 2.3690| 0.4| -9.8| 51.2
Brookfield Asset Management | 5.0440| 2.4| -60.6| 57.2
Shopify | 17.8200| 1.3| -37.1| 60.3
US
By Rheaa Rao and Andre Janse van Vuuren
(Bloomberg) — US stocks broadly ended Monday’s session higher as traders geared up for interest-rate decisions by major central banks across the globe due later this week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% while the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.5% to notch another record high.
The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.39%.
Bitcoin hit a fresh record.
Sentiment in the US is relatively positive, with a widely expected quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday seen as adding fresh support and extending stocks’ outperformance.
That stands in contrast to losses in Asia and Europe on Monday after weaker-than-anticipated retail data in China.
In the US, “near-term momentum may depend on what Fed Chair Powell says after the announcement, and whether retail sales or the PCE Price Index catch the market off guard,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E*Trade from
Morgan Stanley.
Historically, most of the stock market’s December gains tend to come in the second half of the month, he said, adding that the S&P 500 had a positive net return in this period 78% of the time since 1957.
Traders are also parsing fresh economic data.
On Monday, data showed that activity at US service providers is expanding at the fastest pace since October 2021.
Meanwhile, a measure of New York state factory activity retreated by the most since last May.
The main focus remains Wednesday’s Fed decision, which will be followed by policy announcements in Japan, the Nordics and the UK this week.
Even if we get a “hawkish cut” from the Fed, it would be because the central bank sees underlying strength in the economy, and that means the rally in US stocks could continue to broaden out, Tony DeSpirito, BlackRock’s global chief investment officer of fundamental equities, said on Bloomberg TV.
Bloomberg’s dollar index, meanwhile, fluctuated between modest gains and losses on Monday.
After strengthening more than 6% so far this year, Wall Street is starting to sour on the greenback as Trump’s policies and the Fed’s interest-rate cuts are seen to put pressure on the currency in the latter portion of 2025.
The Canadian dollar declined modestly on news that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will name Dominic LeBlanc finance minister.
Earlier, finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet because of differences over how to prepare for the Trump administration.
German lawmakers passed a measure that will pave the way for a national election in two months, backing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s plan to end his embattled administration early.
Meanwhile, euro-area private-sector activity shrank less than anticipated thanks to a bigger-than-expected contribution from services.
French bonds lagged peers after Moody’s Ratings cut the country’s credit rating.
The Bank of France trimmed its domestic growth outlook, with the central bank citing political upheaval as a drag on household and business confidence.
In China, retail sales growth unexpectedly weakened in November despite signs of improvement in the housing market.
The data builds on traders’ disappointment last week when Beijing pledged to boost consumption but failed to offer details on fiscal stimulus.
The retail-sales data “is a reflection of the dire situation there and how the stimulus efforts have prioritized optics over delivering meaningful economic improvements,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore.
“Even for a tactical recovery, we need more after a series of false starts and the risk of tariffs ahead.”
Oil slipped after China’s latest economic data reinforced concerns over weakening demand in the biggest importer.

Key events this week:
* UK jobless claims, unemployment, Tuesday
* UK CPI, Wednesday
* Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
* US rate decision, Wednesday
* Japan rate decision, Thursday
* UK BOE rate decision
* US revised GDP, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* China loan prime rates, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday
* US personal income, spending & PCE inflation, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0510
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2684
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 154.16 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3% to $105,941.89
* Ether rose 5.1% to $4,050.13
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.39%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.25%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.44%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $70.61 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,652.44 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Matthew Burgess, Winnie Hsu and Alex Nicholson.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease.  Hack away at the unessential. –Bruce Lee, 1940-1973.

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