December 7, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed. Go to article »

1909 ~Inventor Leo Baekeland patents the first thermo-setting plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry.

Google Maps is rolling out new features.  They include a new community-based review feature — so use wisely!  -CNN

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is sparking a surge of interest in chess.   Hmm, getting good at chess? We smell another great quarantine activity. -CNN
 
An Indian village schoolteacher won a $1 million global prize, and gave half to the runners-up.  Wonderful news for the teachers, the students and the future of the world in general. A rare win-win-win! –CNN

Jerusalema, a South African dance video, became a source of joy and delight worldwide. I dare you to watch and not be uplifted.

PHOTOS OF THE  DAY

The snow capped mountains are perfectly reflected in the still waters of Glencoe Lochan in the Scottish Highlands.
CREDIT: LESLEY MARTIN 2020

A woman poses for photographs amidst winter daisies at a botanical garden along the Red River in Hanoi.
CREDIT: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP

In this handout image from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), a fireball from Hayabusa2’s capsule carrying the first extensive samples of an asteroid is seen as it reentered the earth’s atmosphere while it is observed at Coober Pedy, Australia.
CREDIT: REUTERS

A sportsman on a bicycle performs during the Proryv (Breakthrough) extreme sports festival in Moscow, Russia.
CREDIT: XINHUA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Market Closes for December 7^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1880, Ferdinand de Lesseps’ Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, organized to finance construction of the Panama Canal, went public in Paris at 500 francs ($100) a share. De Lesseps bribed the French press with more than $300,000 in slush money, so the newspapers were enthusiastic—and the public went wild, as more than 100,000 people bought into the IPO. Within eight years the company collapsed and the shares became worthless.

Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets gained for a fifth straight session, led by miners and tech stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.4% in Toronto, paring earlier losses and bringing its five-day gain to 2.3%. The advance was led by materials as gold and silver prices rose. Tech stocks, led by Shopify, also added to the gains. Meanwhile, energy and health care stocks were the worst performers. On the vaccine front, Canada already had enough potential Covid-19 vaccines secured to protect a population almost four times its size. It just added another 20 million doses to the  pile and accelerated its vaccination calendar.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.4% to $1,865 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.2799 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3 basis points to 0.765%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 61.38 to 17,582.35 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 21. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.9 percent. OceanaGold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 31.9 percent. Today, 97 of 222 shares rose, while 122 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 9.1 percent
* This year, the index rose 3 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 3.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 57.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.9 on a trailing basis and 23.5 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$2.69t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.51 percent compared with 14.66 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.33 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 50.7831| 2.1| 34/18
Information Technology | 35.5336| 2.1| 6/4
Industrials | 3.5112| 0.2| 14/14
Consumer Discretionary | 1.1616| 0.2| 6/7
Communication Services | 0.9800| 0.1| 3/4
Consumer Staples | -0.2196| 0.0| 4/7
Utilities | -0.8492| -0.1| 4/12
Health Care | -2.1813| -1.0| 3/7
Real Estate | -2.3401| -0.4| 10/15
Energy | -11.9459| -0.6| 6/15
Financials | -13.0543| -0.2| 7/19

US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell as coronavirus infections swept across U.S. states, triggering fears of more restrictions. The pound pared losses as the U.K. agreed on further talks with the European Commission to address the impasse over a trade deal. The S&P 500 dropped from an all-time high, led by energy, real-estate and financial companies. Intel Corp. tumbled on news that Apple Inc. is planning a series of new Mac processors for introduction as early as 2021. Interactive Brokers Group Inc. sank after saying it was experiencing “a significant failure” across multiple parts of its data-storage system. The Nasdaq 100 rose for a ninth straight day — its longest winning streak in almost a year. Boeing Co. jumped as UBS Group AG recommended buying shares of the plane maker. Airbnb Inc. boosted the price range of its initial public offering.
     The U.S. is now averaging about as many deaths per day from Covid-19 as it was in April, and several large states — including California, New York and Pennsylvania — are facing alarming upward momentum in hospitalizations. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, warned that the Christmas season could be worse than Thanksgiving for fueling the spread of disease. Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo said indoor dining in New York City — the early epicenter of the pandemic — will close if the regional hospitalization rate hasn’t stabilized after five days. As coronavirus cases surge, markets are increasingly expecting a stimulus deal to be done — especially after last week’s disappointing jobless data. With Republican and Democratic negotiators struggling to reach an agreement on both a mammoth government spending bill and Covid-19 relief, lawmakers are set to postpone what had been a Friday night deadline for passing a bill.  “The market is basically assuming that it gets done,” said Bryce Doty, portfolio manager at Sit Fixed Income Advisors. “Now any setback makes the market vulnerable, because it’s built in that they will pass it.”
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels for crisis talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they try to break the deadlocked negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal. The two spoke on Monday evening amid warnings from British officials the talks could collapse unless negotiators make a rapid breakthrough.

Here are some key events coming up:
* Thursday brings the European Central Bank policy decision and a press briefing from Christine Lagarde. Economists widely expect the central bank to increase and extend its pandemic bond-buying program.
* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration meets to discuss the vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech on Thursday. If the FDA authorizes emergency use, Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said vaccine distribution could begin within 24 hours.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1%.
* The euro lost 0.1% to $1.2112.
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.3379.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 104.02 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank four basis points to 0.93%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to -0.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell seven basis points to 0.283%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index slid 0.5%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $45.72 a barrel.
* Gold rose 1.4% to $1,864.56 an ounce.
–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, William Shaw, Anchalee
Worrachate, Adam Haigh, Lynn Thomasson, Sophie Caronello, Nancy Moran and Kamaron Leach.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

There is only one law of life which is really precious:
though you meet all the time with injustice, remain humble.
                                   -Marcus Aurelius, 121 AD-180 AD

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