February 2, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Ground Hog Day.
Happy Groundhog Day! Will we get more winter? Will we get an early spring? Will we ever spell “Punxsutawney Phil” correctly on the first try? –CNN.
Imbolc: Wiccan Feast of Torches.
Candlemas

James Joyce, author, b. 1882:  Mistakes are the portals of discovery. -James Joyce.
Ayn Rand, author, b. 1905: The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.
                                       When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is.― Ayn Rand.
W.H. Auden, poet, b. 1907. How should we like it were stars to burn
                                        With a passion for us we could not return?
                                        If equal affection cannot be,
                                        Let the more loving one be me.

On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.  Go to article »

Welcoming the year of the Ox:  If there’s one occasion to prepare dumplings from scratch, wrappers and all, it’s the Lunar New Year, which starts Feb. 12. Everyday dumplings take on special significance for the holiday, symbolizing good fortune for the year ahead and assuring family unity.  The more immediate reward comes from the process of making them, writes our Food editor Genevieve Ko, who describes a therapeutic project “that lulls like rowing on a still lake.” Try her crisp dumplings, or tang yuan — chewy balls with black sesame filling that simmer in sweet ginger soup. –The NY Times.

The Late Night Hosts Weigh In on Trump’s Legal defense teams:
“Trump suddenly found himself without any legal representation, which is still a huge improvement over being represented by Rudy Giuliani.” — JAMES CORDEN

“Trump was furious — not that they quit, that he couldn’t fire them on Twitter.” — JIMMY FALLON

“A source close to the ex-president described it as a ‘mutual decision.’ Oh, totally mutual! ‘No, Carol did not divorce me — we divorced me. We also agreed that the lawn
was the perfect place for all my shirts.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT

Colbert said, “the former president cruised some dark alleys of the legal world and scooped up two new lawyers,” Bruce Castor and David Schoen.
“Now these guys have a lot in common. When he was a Pennsylvania D.A. in 2005, Castor declined to prosecute Bill Cosby as part of a ‘secret agreement,’ although it is possible Castor did not know, and Cosby just dropped the secret agreement into his drink.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa
CREDIT: BARRY REEGER/AP
A train crosses Knaresborough Viaduct in North Yorkshire after snow fell overnight
CREDIT:DANNY LAWSON/PA
A couple walks over the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan
CREDIT: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS
A surfer rides a wave off Ondarreta Beach at dawn in San Sebastian, Basque Country, northern Spain
CREDIT:JAVIER ETXEZARRETA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Market Closes for February 2^nd, 2021 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1869, in the first warning sign of the coming Panic of 1869, a New York newspaper reported that an IRS auditor has discovered that trustees of several city churches had taken $2 million in ecclesiastical trust funds and used them to speculate in stocks, and several parishes had taken out mortgages on their church buildings to answer margin calls.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares climbed for the second day as pot stocks continued to outperformed after U.S. Democratic senators said they would pursue “comprehensive cannabis reform” in early 2021. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1% in Toronto, led by cannabis health care stocks. Materials were the worst performers, as the buying frenzy that sent silver to an eight-year high stalled out. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to manufacture Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine in Canada, making it the first coronavirus shot that will be produced in the country.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.3% to $1,835.85 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.2796 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose to 0.908%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite is rising for the second day, climbing 1.1 percent, or 199.2 to 17,891.65 in Toronto. In midday trading, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 144 of 221 shares rose, while 73 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.6 percent. Cronos Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.9 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 3.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9 percent below its 52-week high on Jan. 8, 2021 and 60.1 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
26.3 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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 rose to 13.65 percent compared with
13.42 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.26 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 74.9508| 4.0| 9/1
Financials | 71.9059| 1.4| 23/3
Industrials | 49.9108| 2.3| 27/2
Energy | 17.3113| 0.8| 15/5
Health Care | 14.5522| 5.3| 6/2
Utilities | 12.8803| 1.4| 14/2
Consumer Discretionary | 10.0730| 1.5| 11/2
Communication Services | 8.9926| 1.0| 7/0
Real Estate | 3.8777| 0.7| 22/3
Consumer Staples | 0.2549| 0.0| 3/8
Materials | -64.6626| -2.7| 7/45
US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks extended their rally into a second day as the trading frenzy that fueled a surge in heavily shorted shares crumbled. Investors also sifted through a batch of corporate earnings. All major groups in the S&P 500 rose, with financial, industrial and retail companies leading the charge. Twenty-five out of the 30blue chips in the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced. United Parcel Service Inc. climbed as the courier reported a surge in profit, while Exxon Mobil Corp. was up on a pledge to safeguard dividends following its first annual loss in at least 40 years. Meanwhile, the speculative trades popular with Reddit crowds crumbled, with GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. tumbling at least 41% as silver sank from an eight-year high.
The collapse of those trades that roiled the stock market last month has coincided with a sharp reduction in short interest after bearish investors appeared to cover their positions. While some indicators show the battle between Redditors and hedge funds may not be over, analysts cited a sense of more stability and diminished concern over contagion from any retail bubble as reasons for the equity rebound. “There’s optimism brewing underneath,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. “The fact that markets have cooled down a bit with the retail- trading frenzy, that’s giving a little bit of optimism.
Anytime there’s more stability to markets, there’s a breath of relief of all investors.” She also cited prospects for more fiscal stimulus as another reason for the positive mood. The Senate on Tuesday will begin a process that would let Democrats pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal without Republican votes, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. As stocks continued to push higher, Bank of America Corp. strategists came out with a warning about rising bullishness, saying that a sentiment indicator is close to hitting a “sell” signal — a mark last reached shortly before the financial crisis. Meanwhile, Citigroup Inc. is growing concerned with elevated earnings expectations, noting that share prices may be ahead of themselves by about 10%.
These are some key events coming up:
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* The Bank of England sets rates on Thursday, and an Indian central bank policy decision comes then too.
* The U.S. January payrolls report is due Friday, providing a first look at hiring in 2021.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 increased 1.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.1%.
* The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.2036.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 105.04 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 1.10%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to -0.49%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 0.349%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2.3% to $54.77 a barrel.
* Gold lost 1.3% to $1,835.66 an ounce.
* Silver slid 8.9% to $26.47 per ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Anchalee Worrachate, Cormac Mullen, Yakob Peterseil, Elena Popina and Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Humility makes great men twice honorable. –Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790

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