February 19, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Carnival: Because the festivities are canceled this year, The Times put together a project commemorating the event and detailing its history. We recommend going through these dazzling photos of the blinged-out swimsuits and colorful plumage from Caribbean Carnivals around the world.

Perseverance pays off: See the Mars landing

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

School cleaner Paul Michael is stunning pupils and staff with his jaw-dropping operatic performances. Paul, 44, usually works as a cruise ship entertainer but took on a role at Allenborne School in Wimborne, Dorset, because of the pandemic. Pupils at the school were left completely in the dark by Paul’s usual job and were staggered to hear him break into song last week
CREDIT: BNPS

Martin Broen explores the other wordly landscapes of underwater caves and cenotes along the Riviera Maya in Mexico
CREDIT: CATERS NEWS AGENCY

Plants that have been frozen in ice by Lake Huron in Michigan, USA, which were encased in ice after waves splashed over them and froze
CREDIT: COULTER STUART/BAV MEDIA

Westie Sky frolics among a carpet of snowdrops at Welford Park in Berkshire
CREDIT: VAGNER VIDAL/HYDE NEWS & PICTURES LTD
Market Closes for February 19^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for his “tin-foil talking phonograph,” the ancestor of the modern record-player and the first device to make sound recording practical.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 18,384.27 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.1 percent on Feb. 8 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5 percent. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 120 of 219 shares rose, while 99 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.1 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 11.0 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.4 percent
* The index advanced 2.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.1 percent below its 52-week high on
Feb. 16, 2021 and 64.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
28 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$2.82t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.50 percent compared with
13.39 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.88 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 42.2805| 2.0| 5/5
Financials | 30.9261| 0.6| 19/7
Industrials | 21.8636| 1.0| 19/10
Consumer Discretionary | 21.4421| 3.1| 11/2
Health Care | 9.0209| 3.0| 8/1
Materials | 3.9958| 0.2| 21/29
Real Estate | 2.1764| 0.4| 20/6
Energy | -1.4645| -0.1| 10/12
Utilities | -4.2733| -0.5| 5/11
Consumer Staples | -6.3818| -1.0| 1/10
Communication Services | -9.3804| -1.1| 1/6
US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks finished mostly lower as benchmark Treasury yields climbed to the highest levels in a year, renewing concern that rising borrowing costs and price pressures could derail the economic recovery. The S&P 500 Index turned negative in the final minutes of trading Friday, ending lower for the first week in three. Utilities and consumer staples led the declines, while the materials and energy sectors finished in the green.
The tech- heavy Nasdaq 100 was weighed down by Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. “The two big things right now are waiting for stimulus and this idea of the reflation trade — investors have a keen eye  out for signs of inflation,” said Shawn Snyder, head of investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management. “You see Treasury yields moving higher, that’s causing a bit of consternation in the markets.” Corporate earnings reports had given investors something to think about on Friday other than the relentless rise in Treasury yields, which dominated discussion this week and fueled concern about the staying power of the New Year stock rally. Applied Materials Inc. climbed after a strong forecast for the current quarter helped by growing orders from chipmakers rushing to produce more supply.Recent economic data are a reminder of the fragility of thegrowth backdrop, with a report Friday showing U.K. retail sales fell more than twice as fast as expected in January.
Meanwhile, the Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced for the first time in four days, while the euro strengthened after Germany’s manufacturing PMI climbed more than forecast in February. The British pound rallied above $1.40 for the first time since 2018. Oil traded below $60 a barrel as wells slowly restarted in Texas after being hit by a big freeze. The White House said it would be willing to meet with Iran, potentially paving the way for more crude exports from the Persian Gulf nation.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.2% to 3,906.71 as of 4:08 p.m. New York time, the lowest in two weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 31,494.32.
The Nasdaq 100 Index declined 0.4% to 13,580.78, the lowest in more than two weeks.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5% to 414.88.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2% to 1,124.92.
The euro increased 0.2% to $1.2115.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 105.47 per dollar, the largest gain in more than a week.
The British pound gained 0.2% to $1.4004, the strongest in almost three years.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased four basis points to 1.34%, the highest in about a year.
Germany’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to -0.31%, the highest in more than eight months.
Britain’s 10-year yield increased eight basis points to 0.698%,
the highest in 11 months on the largest climb in almost two months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 2.5% to $58.98 a barrel,
the lowest in more than a week on the biggest dip in 15 weeks.
Gold strengthened 0.3% to $1,781.34 an ounce, the first advance in more than a week.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Happiness is good health and a bad memory. -Ingrid Bergman, 1915-1982

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