February 18, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
February 18, 1885 – Mark Twain published the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the US.

Feb 18, 1930  – Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. Go to article »

Yoko Ono, artist, b. 1933
Toni Morrison, writer, b. 1931
Helen Gurley Brown, editor, b. 1922.

Researchers have a new theory on what wiped out the dinosaurs.  Turns out it may not have been an asteroid after all.

Massive holes have been mysteriously forming in the Siberian tundra for years, and scientists have finally figured out why.  Spoiler alert: It’s climate change.

NASA accomplished its trickiest rover landing yet, in a quest for signs of life.

People can answer questions while dreaming

Here’s the most accurate flat map of Earth yet

Mammoth DNA is the oldest ever sequenced. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

No place like Antarctica: There’s something about the vastness and majesty found at the southern end of the planet that just puts things in perspective. (Click here to view.)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Motley’s owner, Chloe Brown, a zoo biology student and part-time employee at The Royal School for the Deaf Derby, has raised Motley since he was just over 21 weeks old.
CREDIT:@MOTLEYS_ADVENTUREZ / CATERS NEWS

Several projections were performed both from the ground and helicopter and were carried out over distances of up to 8km and dimensions up to 2.2km in height on the iconic Swiss mountains Eiger, Monch und Jungfrau. The artistic performance pays tribute to the “Mars 2020” Perseverance rover mars mission by NASA
CREDIT: VALENTINE FLAURAUD/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Taken from the village of Milo near Catania this photograph shows an eruption at Mount Etna, after 32 hours from the last spectacular paroxysmal episode. At the Southeast Crater a new paroxysm occurred on February 18, this eruption was characterised by tall lava fountains, long lava flows from the southeast to the north side of the Southeast crater and a dense eruptive ash column
CREDIT:SALVATORE ALLEGRA/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

A ceiling fan with icicles hanging from it in an apartment building in Upper Dallas,Texas. Thomas Black was shocked to find icicles hanging from a ceiling fan inside his home in Texas as temperatures plummet to – 18 – the coldest in 30 years
CREDIT: THOMAS BLACK / SWNS.COM
Market Closes for February 18^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1688, the London Gazette published the earliest known reference to “Edward Lloyd’s coffee house,” the birthplace of Lloyd’s of London and the insurance industry.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell after pot and tech stocks underperformed on Thursday. The S&P/TSX Composite index shed 0.6%, extending its losses into second day. Cannabis stocks were lower after Tilray reported its earnings and analysts downgraded the stock. Financials were the only sector that was in the green on Thursday. Meanwhile, North America’s first Bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its first day of trading. Investors exchanged $145 million worth of shares.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat around $1,774.67 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose slightly to C$1.2675 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose to 1.140%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.5 percent, or 100.71 to 18,274.07 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Feb. 5. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.7 percent. Canopy Growth Corp. had the largest drop, falling 10.3 percent. Today, 159 of 219 shares fell, while 59 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1 percent
* The index advanced 2.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.6 percent below its 52-week high on
Feb. 16, 2021 and 63.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
28.4 on a trailing basis and 17.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8 percent on a trailing 12- month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.84t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.39 percent compared with
13.63 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.65 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -34.3264| -1.6| 4/6
Materials | -24.1138| -1.0| 10/39
Health Care | -17.5021| -5.5| 0/9
Industrials | -16.3881| -0.7| 10/19
Energy | -13.7186| -0.6| 2/20
Consumer Discretionary | -4.4430| -0.6| 4/9
Real Estate | -3.9634| -0.7| 3/23
Communication Services | -1.5142| -0.2| 3/4
Consumer Staples | -1.2242| -0.2| 3/8
Utilities | -0.0465| 0.0| 8/8
Financials | 16.5269| 0.3| 12/14
US
By Lu Wang and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped to the lowest levels in more than a week and Treasury yields edged higher amid growing concern rising borrowing costs could sap a rally that’s driven equity values to historic highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.4%, the third consecutive decline. The energy and communication services sectors weighed on the S&P 500, which posted its biggest drop since Jan. 29. A report earlier showed initial jobless claims rose more than expected. Walmart Inc. fell 6.5% after saying it will increase spending on worker salaries and automation. “This rise in rates will certainly test the mettle and staying power of the bulls,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed as high as 1.32% before paring the increase. Yields reached the highest levels in a year earlier this week.
Technology companies such as Tesla Inc., which have seen their valuations surge, are often seen as the most at risk of a pullback. “The market is starting to get a little wary of this ‘bad news is good news’ scenario,” said Matt Benkendorf, chief investment officer of Vontobel Quality Growth. “Now you’ve seen a bit of a mixed picture, which scrambles the monetary policy visibility.” In currency markets, the pound touched the strongest level versus the euro since March amid continued optimism over the nation’s vaccine rollout. The dollar weakened against Group of 10 peers. Bitcoin retreated, paring its weekly gain to 5%. Commodities were broadly higher, with lumber futures climbed to a record $1,004.90 per 1,000 board feet.
Copper in London hit a fresh 8-year high as China’s traders returned from holiday with metals markets in a bullish mood. Meanwhile, the global oil market is grappling with a crisis caused by freezing temperatures in the U.S. More than 4 million barrels a day of output — almost 40% of the nation’s crude production — is now offline, according to traders and executives. Stocks in Asia dropped overnight, with the Hang Seng Index down 1.6% and Japan’s Topix index 1% lower.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.4% to 3,914 as of 4:03 p.m. New
York time, the lowest in more than a week on the largest dip in almost three weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.4% to 31,493.93,
the first retreat in a week and the biggest dip in almost three weeks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.7% to 13,865.36, the lowest
in almost two weeks on the largest dip in almost three weeks.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.8% to 412.70, the lowest
in a week on the biggest dip in almost three weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.5% to 679.13, the
lowest in more than a week on the largest dip in almost three weeks.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to 1,126.71, the biggest fall in more than a week.
The euro gained 0.4% to $1.2092, the largest advance in more than a week.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 105.65 per dollar, the biggest advance in more than a week.
The British pound jumped 0.9% to $1.3975, the strongest in
almost three years on the largest climb in more than five weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 1.29%.
Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.35%, the highest in more than eight months.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.622%, the highest in 11 months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude sank 1.8% to $60.06 a barrel, the
first retreat in a week and the largest tumble in almost five weeks.
Gold depreciated 0.1% to $1,774.36 an ounce, reaching the
weakest in almost eight months on its sixth consecutive decline.
Copper jumped 2.3% to $3.91 a pound, the highest on record with the largest jump in more than six weeks.

–With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail.
He is immortal, not because he alone among the creatures has an inexhaustible voice,
but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of kindness and compassion. -William Faulkner, 1897-1962

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