February 11, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

1990: South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. Go to article »

There is no easy road to freedom.  None of us acting alone can achieve success.  We must therefore act together as a united people, for reconciliation, for nation building,
for the birth of a new world. -Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.

Thomas Edison, inventor, b. 1847.

Beijing’s cute Olympic mascot was a crowd favorite in China — until it started talking.  A cute panda should never sound like a middle-aged man …

Third potential planet discovered around star closest to our sun.  Greetings! It appears Earth has a new neighbor. 

‘Marry Me’ shines the spotlight on Jennifer Lopez.  Calling all hopeless romantics! This new rom-com is perfect to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 

Why Eileen Gu is luxury fashion’s dream model.  The Olympic gold medalist is stunning on the slopes — and on the catwalk. 

There are some people who can just never catch Covid. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Antoine Gerard of Team France competes during the men’s Nordic combined at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou.
CREDIT: Michel Cottin/Agence Zoom/Getty Images

Smoke billows from the Mount Etna volcano, photographed from Nicolosi in Sicily.
CREDIT: Salvatore Allegra/AP

Young novice monks sweep a sidewalk along a road outside the Buddhist monastery in Godavari.
CREDIT: Skanda Gautam/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock

Market Closes for February 11^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1956, the Korean Stock Exchange was established in Seoul, South Korea.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian materials and energy equities helped lead the S&P/TSX Composite Index higher on Friday, thanks to surging gold, silver and oil prices.
The Composite advanced slightly to 21,548.84 in Toronto.
Gold and silver miners dominated the list of the top 10 performers on the Composite Index, occupying 9 of the top spots.
Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 7.4%.
Iamgold Corp. had the largest percentage increase, rising 9.9%.
Insights
* This week, the index rose 1.3%
* The index advanced 17% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained ~12% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.1% below its 52-week high on Nov. 12, 2021 and ~20% above its low on Feb. 26, 2021
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.7 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.44t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.16% compared with 13.22% in the previous session and the average of 12.67% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | 83.4309| 3.4| 43/10
* Energy | 81.8523| 2.6| 29/3
* Communication Services | 2.7409| 0.3| 4/3
* Consumer Staples | 1.6083| 0.2| 8/3
* Health Care | 0.0682| 0.0| 3/5
* Utilities | -3.3302| -0.4| 3/13
* Real Estate | -5.5506| -0.9| 3/19
* Consumer Discretionary | -24.3432| -3.2| 0/13
* Financials | -29.4622| -0.4| 8/20
* Industrials | -33.3604| -1.3| 4/26
* Information Technology | -56.5266| -3.3| 0/16
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Barrick Gold | 22.0800| 7.4| 93.7| 9.7
* Suncor Energy | 16.6700| 4.6| 35.2| 21.3
* Canadian Natural Resources | 15.5100| 2.9| -20.8| 26.5
* Magna International | -12.5500| -6.4| 174.0| -5.7
* Brookfield Asset Management | -19.6200| -2.6| 25.1| -3.1
* Shopify | -35.5300| -4.0| -28.8| -37.4

US
By Stephen Kirkland, Vildana Hajric and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped, while investors sought safety in Treasuries as the U.S. warned Russia could take offensive military action against Ukraine as early as next week.
Risk assets added to weekly losses as the U.K. and U.S. advised citizens to leave Ukraine as tensions with Russia rise.
Oil spiked higher as a Russian attack could lead to harsh sanctions from the U.S. Russia has repeatedly rejected charges it plans to invade Ukraine.
The S&P 500 fell 1.9% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped more than 3%, following Thursday’s steep declines amid bets on faster Federal Reserve tightening.
Treasuries caught bids, with the 10-year yield sinking 11 basis points to about 1.92%.
Oil climbed, with brent crude hitting $95 a barrel for the first time since 2014.
For months, the U.S. has been warning European allies that Russia may be preparing to invade Ukraine, massing almost 130,000 troops near the border and staging the largest joint
military drills in years in neighboring Belarus.
The U.S. has warned of debilitating economic sanctions if Russia attacks, while the Kremlin says NATO expanding further east or deploying weapons in Ukraine are red lines.
A potential Russian invasion of Ukraine could not only disrupt crude supplies but also may spark retaliatory sanctions by the U.S.
Oil prices have soared in recent weeks on speculation that demand will outpace supply as the global economy rebounds from the pandemic.
“The Russia/Ukraine news delivered another body-blow to markets, which were already reeling from stubborn inflation numbers and uber hawkish comments from Fed officials,”  Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth, wrote in a note. “We may have more downside risk over the coming weeks as markets react to headlines”
Friday’s selloff comes a day after a strong inflation reading and comments from a Federal Reserve official sparked a rout in equities and bonds.
Odds increased for faster rate increases, with some traders speculating a hike may come even before the next regularly scheduled meeting in March.
Those worries were effectively ended Friday when the Fed signaled it would go ahead with the last of its bond purchases before the program ends next month.
The central bank has said it won’t raise until after the buys are over.
Inflation concerns weighed on U.S. consumer sentiment, which declined further in early February to a fresh decade low as views about personal finances deteriorated.
The University of Michigan’s sentiment index dropped to 61.7, the lowest since October 2011, from 67.2 in January.
Consumers expect an inflation rate of 5% over the next year, up from last month’s reading of 4.9% and the highest since 2008.
“Investors are worried that the economy is also slowing just at the worst time, just as the Fed is about to raise interest rates, which could threaten the health of this expansion and bull market,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “Add to it the geopolitical tensions and I think it’s very good reasons why we now have the volatility that we do.”
Here are the main market moves:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.8% to $1.1341
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3551
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 115.31 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 11 basis points to 1.92%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.30%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 1.54%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.3% to $93.78 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1.5% to $1,864.60 an ounce
–With assistance from Sunil Jagtiani, Akshay Chinchalkar and Robert Brand.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism. –Sir William Osler, 1849-1919.

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