December 8, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
80 years ago today. Go to article »

December 8, 2020: The UK begins vaccinating for COVD-19 using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Diego Rivera, painter, b. 1886
Mary, Queen of Scots, b.1542
Horace, b.65 BC.
Jim Morrison, singer, b. 1943.

A third Pfizer shot might take care of omicron.

Museum T. rex gets a nice Christmas sweater. (h/t Ellen Kominers) 

Camels kicked out of Saudi beauty contest for using Botox. (h/t Mike Smedley)

Gravitational waves should permanently scar space-time.

Here’s what people Googled in 2021.  Is there anything more intimate, more revealing than someone’s Google search history? Probably not. 

These are the words we mispronounced the most this year.  If you still have trouble with “Chipotle,” you’re not alone

These are the best bars in the world for 2021.  Every single one of these looks like something you’d see in a James Bond film.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Nasa spacewalker Kayla Barron is pictured during a six-hour and 32 minute spacewalk to replace a failed antenna system on the International Space Station’s Port-1 truss structure.
CREDIT: Mark Garcia/Nasa
People walk on white streets after the first snowfalls in Italy.
CREDIT: Tino Romano/EPA
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel and her replacement, Olaf Scholz, attend the official handing-over ceremony.
CREDIT: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Market Closes for December 8^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1941, as the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor filtered through the market, the S&P 500 dropped 4.37%, one of its worst-one day declines ever.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as companies in the technology sector tumbled. The Bank of Canada maintained its rate, but cautioned that the omicron variant could cause continued uncertainty amid rising inflation. The S&P TSX Composite Index dropped 0.4% at 21,077.35 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.4%. Nuvei Corp. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 40.4%, after a Spruce Point Capital short report said the shares could decline further from current levels. Today, 126 of 233 shares fell, while 100 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 21%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 5%
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.3% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 21.9% above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3% in the past 5 days and fell 2.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.48% compared with 14.84% in the previous session and the average of 10.80% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -30.1544| -1.2| 3/12
* Industrials | -26.0351| -1.1| 10/20
* Energy | -18.4405| -0.7| 6/15
* Financials | -13.4751| -0.2| 7/20
* Communication Services | -6.5871| -0.7| 3/3
* Consumer Discretionary | -5.1060| -0.7| 0/13
* Utilities | -3.1230| -0.3| 6/10
* Real Estate | 0.7828| 0.1| 16/8
* Health Care | 2.2698| 1.3| 8/1
* Consumer Staples | 6.7374| 0.9| 6/7
* Materials | 7.8105| 0.3| 35/17
================================================================
| | | | YTD
|Index Points| | Volume VS | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change |20D AVG (%)| (%)
================================================================
* Nuvei | -21.4200| -40.4| 1,190.9| -6.0
* Brookfield Asset Management | -6.7850| -0.9| -56.3| 41.4
* Royal Bank of Canada | -6.7270| -0.5| -25.8| 24.0
* Nutrien | 2.2190| 0.6| -18.8| 46.0
* TD Bank | 6.9550| 0.6| -11.5| 32.7
* Couche-Tard | 10.6100| 3.8| 5,931.3| 18.4

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose Wednesday with the S&P 500 securing its biggest three-day rally of the year. The benchmark index gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.4% as fears over the omicron virus variant eased after Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said early lab studies showed a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine neutralizes the variant. “Risk assets are recovering this week after a bout of turbulence sparked by the emergence of the new virus variant,” said Art Hogan, chief markets strategist at National Securities. “Early studies showed vaccines provide a partial shield against the new variant. So far, omicron cases haven’t overwhelmed hospitals and vaccine developments are encouraging.” Travel shares gained with airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. higher.
However, losses in consumer staples and financials weighed on the market as technology shares struggled for direction. Wall Street analysts expect the market to remain volatile until there is more clarity on the omicron variant’s threat to the economy, which if low, should allow the market’s focus to return to the  Federal Reserve.  “If omicron concerns continue to fade, attention will shift back to the Fed and the outlook for growth,” Dennis DeBusschere of 22V Research wrote in a note to clients.  “We’re really in a new regime here,” Alicia Levine, head of equities and capital markets advisory at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, said of the Fed’s hawkish tilt on Bloomberg TV.  “And with that comes implications for asset classes.”
Treasury yields advanced, with the 10 year rising to 1.52%. The dollar dipped and crude oil gained. Meanwhile, in Europe, stocks fell 0.6% with market sentiment hurt by reports that the U.K. is close to announcing new curbs, including vaccine passports for large venues and an order to work from home. “All of this whipsawing around, I don’t think you have an easy time pointing to one particular news item each day over the last several days that’s caused it,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors. “We’ve gone 20 months and still have not had a correction, and I think that is fueling some volatility.”

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks Thursday
* Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks Thursday
* China CPI, PPI, money supply, new yuan loans, aggregate financing Thursday
* U.S. CPI Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.7% to $1.1348
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3230
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.67 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to -0.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 0.78%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $72.60 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Peyton Forte, Emily Graffeo and Cecile Gutscher.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

A man can stand a lot as long as he can stand himself.  -Axel Munthe, 1857-1949.

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