February 13, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1741- First magazine published in the US.
1945- Dresden firebombing.

1997 – The Dow Jones industrial average broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, closing at 7,022.44.  Go to article »  It has increased +320.33% since then!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunset over a hard coral garden, part of the Gordan Reef in the Strait of Tiran, Northern Red Sea, Egypt.
CREDIT: TOBIAS FRIEDRICH/WWW.BELOW-SURFACE.COM

An Indigenous child looks on during a demonstration against the government of Brazil’s President Bolsonaro in front of the National Congress in Brasilia.
CREDIT: ADRIANO MACHADO/REUTERS

Severe blizzard conditions over Mam Tor at sunrise in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.
CREDIT: JOHN FINNEY/WENN

A Komodor named Addie takes part in the Working group competition at the 2020 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
CREDIT: CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS

Market Closes for February 13^th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1990, junk-bond giant Drexel Burnham Lambert sought bankruptcy protection, only days after Chief Executive Fred Joseph told The Wall Street Journal, “I see daylight. The worst is behind us.”
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 17,821.17 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.4 percent. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.0 percent. Today, 105 of 232 shares fell, while 121 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.9 percent
* The index advanced 14 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 12, 2020 and 14.2 percent above its low on Feb. 14, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.54 percent compared with 6.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.17 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -26.5075| -0.9| 10/18
Communication Services | -7.2591| -0.7| 1/6
Health Care | -2.8312| -1.4| 5/5
Consumer Discretionary | -2.1058| -0.3| 9/8
Consumer Staples | 0.2697| 0.0| 10/1
Information Technology | 1.4098| 0.1| 5/5
Industrials | 2.7212| 0.1| 16/15
Financials | 2.9196| 0.1| 7/19
Real Estate | 3.5387| 0.6| 21/4
Utilities | 4.1592| 0.5| 11/5
Materials | 12.0069| 0.6| 26/19

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 0.6 basis points to 1.392 percent

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities had a turbulent Thursday, fluctuating between gains and losses on mixed news about the coronavirus outbreak, only to fade after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it will further shrink repurchase agreement operations. The Fed news late in the trading day erased what had been a small gain for S&P 500 Index, which closed lower for the first time this week. The benchmark had bounced back from session lows after the World Health Organization said a surge in coronavirus diagnoses didn’t necessarily indicate a spike in infections. China recently deployed a revised methodology to diagnose the virus, sending the number of confirmed cases soaring, but many of those cases could be days or weeks old, according to the WHO. Traders are still trying to gauge the outbreak’s effect on the economy.
“It’s too early to tell the overall impact on U.S. markets. We seem to continue to be strong and U.S. consumers continue to be strong,” Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA, said by phone. “The question now is, how quickly can the virus get under control and can China limit the extent and get things back to normal as quickly as possible?” The New York Fed said it would shrink repo operations starting with Friday’s overnight offering. The Fed has been conducting repo offerings and Treasury-bill purchases in a bid to keep control of short-term interest rates and bolster bank reserves. The efforts had calmed markets since a September spike. Treasuries trimmed their gains for the day. The euro traded near the lowest since 2017, while the U.K. pound gained and gilts retreated after Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The FTSE 100 Index also declined. Earlier, stock gauges in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea all declined, though shares in Australia edged higher. Oil climbed even as the International Energy Agency said the coronavirus means global demand will drop this quarter for the first time in over a decade.

Here are some key events coming up:
* China and the U.S. on Friday are scheduled to lower tariffs on billions of dollars of respective imports as part of the trade deal signed last month.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.2% to 3,374.18 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 431.08.
*The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 1.1% to 7,452.03, the largest drop in almost two weeks.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 0.4% to 1,105.07.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,207.10.
*The euro declined 0.3% to $1.0841, the weakest in almost three years.
*The British pound advanced 0.7% to $1.3049, the strongest in almost two weeks on the largest rise in almost two weeks.
*The offshore yuan weakened 0.2% to 6.9885 per dollar.
*The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 109.79 per dollar, the largest rise in almost two weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.61%.
*The yield on two-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 1.44%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.39%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.652%, the highest in more than four weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.8% to $51.59 a barrel, the highest in two weeks.
*Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,576.11 an ounce, the highest in more than a week on the largest gain in a week.
*LME copper advanced 0.3% to $5,764 per metric ton, the highest in almost three weeks.

–With assistance from Chester Yung, Cormac Mullen, Livia Yap, Adam Haigh and Yakob Peterseil.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

To achieve greatness, two things are needed:  a plan, and not quite enough time.
                                                                                          -Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990

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