February 22, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Movie Suggestion ~Gary and I watched  The Dig on Netflix on the weekend and we both really enjoyed it.  I recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet – fascinating story.

February 22, 1825~Russia and Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary.

On Feb. 21, 1965, former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot and killed by assassins identified as Black Muslims as he was about to address a rally in New York City; he was 39.  Go to article »

George Washington,  first U.S. President, b. 1732.
Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher, b. 1788.
Business is booming at Boston’s only typewriter shop. (h/t Scott Kominers)

A 139 year-old Victorian house rolled downhill to a new address in quite the San Francisco spectacle yesterday. Check it out.

A podcast born in the U.S.A. Former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are liberal icons and rhapsodists about the dreams and travails of everyday Americans. Now, the two friends are also podcast hosts.  Spotify today released the first two episodes of “Renegades: Born in the USA,” in which the men discuss race, fatherhood and the painful divisions that persist in American society.  Although the show is positioned as an attempt to understand these divisions, Mr. Obama and Mr. Springsteen largely avoid politics and stick to personal stories.
Another advantage of being rich is that all your faults are called eccentricities. -Anonymous.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Icicles hang from the American Falls, one side of Niagara Falls, in New York, USA
CREDIT:LINDSAY DEDARIO/REUTERS

Seth, Moose, Diva, Bella, Sergei, Aki, Mabel, Luna and Blu, nine German Shepherd pups, line up for a photo opportunity in a garden in the Isle of Man
CREDIT: CARA QUALTROUGH/ SPLIT SECOND PHOTOGRAPHY / SWNS.COM

Lion pauses, as if to decide where she is going to go next, at Nairobi National Park in Kenya
CREDIT: SALIM VERJEE / CATERS NEWS AGENCY

Market Closes for February 22^nd, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     In 1980, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the Consumer Price Index rose 1.4% in January alone, equating to an annualized inflation rate of 18% – the highest rise in prices since the 1973 oil crisis.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities gained Monday as commodities rose to their highest in almost eight years amid booming investor appetite for everything from oil to corn. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2%, with materials and energy closing higher, while tech fell. Canadian power & utility stocks dropped Monday after the recent severe weather events in Texas. Energy retailer Just Energy Group revealed a big loss, while Algonquin Power & Utilities also retreated after expecting an impact. Moderna Inc. has received positive feedback from U.S. regulators on a proposal to expand the number of doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in each vial, the company said, a move that could help expand supplies.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.55 discount  to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to $1,807.81 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar slipped 0.02% to C$1.2618 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 2.8 basis points to 1.230%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second
day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 32.47 to 18,416.74 in Toronto.
Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index gain,
increasing 8.2 percent. MEG Energy Corp. had the largest increase, rising 13.4 percent.
Today, 105 of 219 shares rose, while 108 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 6.2 percent
* The index advanced 3.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9 percent below its 52-week high on
Feb. 16, 2021 and 64.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
28.2 on a trailing basis and 17.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8 percent on a trailing 12-
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.84t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.34 percent compared with
13.50 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.50percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 75.8037| 3.3| 39/10
Energy | 54.8661| 2.5| 16/6
Financials | 23.0297| 0.4| 17/7
Consumer Discretionary | 2.7826| 0.4| 6/6
Real Estate | 0.3524| 0.1| 11/13
Communication Services | -3.9705| -0.5| 3/4
Consumer Staples | -6.2910| -1.0| 0/11
Health Care | -9.4073| -3.1| 2/7
Utilities | -14.1653| -1.6| 2/14
Industrials | -28.9589| -1.3| 8/21
Information Technology | -61.5741| -2.9| 1/9
US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Tech stocks dropped on valuation concerns while commodities rallied and bond yields rose with investors pricing in stronger growth and faster inflation as the global economy recovers. The Nasdaq 100 tumbled more than 2.5% to a three-week low as investors questioned the appeal of expensive, growth-focused stocks. The S&P 500 Index fell for a fifth day, its longest losing streak in a year. Gains for energy shares and financial companies limited losses on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. European and Asian markets were broadly negative.
Commodities were almost uniformly green. Brent oil climbed above $65 a barrel as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted prices could advance into the $70s in coming months. Copper briefly rose above $9,000 a metric ton for the first time in nine years, taking another step closer to an all-time high set in 2011 as investors bet that supply tightness will increase as the world recovers from the pandemic. After a tremendous run from the depths of the pandemic selloff 11 months ago, stocks are under scrutiny as an increase an interest rates bolsters the appeal of fixed-income investments. “Long-duration assets are the ones that are most vulnerable in a rising interest rate environment,” said Scott Knapp, chief market strategist of CUNA Mutual Group. “The exact same stocks that led the market higher when interest rates were plummeting are the ones most vulnerable when interest rates rise.”
Inflation Angst Is About to Rewrite the Stock Market Playbook Treasury yields climbed and a key part of the curve – the gap between 5- and 30-year yields — touched the highest level in more than five years. Yields rose in Asia, while European government yields reversed an advance and edged lower. Elsewhere, Brazilian markets tumbled following President Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to replace the head of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled oil company. The real fell 1% and the Ibovespa stock gauge dropped almost 5%. Bitcoin slumped more than 10% at one point as prices pulled back from an all-time high.
Some key events to watch this week:
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers the central bank’s semi-
annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
* EIA crude oil inventory report is out Wednesday.
* Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20
will meet virtually Friday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be among the attendees.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.8%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 2.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.2156.
* The British pound increased 0.3% to $1.4062.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.4% to 105.07 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 1.36%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to -0.34%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.68%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.8% to $61.49 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.4% to $1,809.63 an ounce.
–With assistance from Vinícius Andrade, Sophie Caronello and Andreea Papuc.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

I see, I forget, I hear, I remember.  I do, I understand. –Chinese Proverb.

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