February 23, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: 1945: Iwo Jima Day.
1954:  First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Archaeologists uncover a massive Roman mosaic floor in London.

Turns out happiness is a superpower.

Meet the ultra-introverts.

‘Hank the Tank,’ a 500-pound bear, is breaking into California homes.  Imagine going to grab a midnight snack from the kitchen and then you see… Hank. 

Striking images from Sony World Photography Awards finalists revealed.  Which of these incredible photos is your favorite? There’s so much talent here, it’s hard to pick just one!

You should be eating citrus this month.  Here are some fruits and recipes that will lift your spirits if you’re feeling a little winter drag.

To many people think the grass is greener somewhere else.  The grass is green wherever you water it.

Russia’s imminent invasion of Ukraine was the talk of late night on Tuesday, when Stephen Colbert sought to answer why Vladimir Putin planned to send troops into another country.
“He claims it’s to carry out ‘peacekeeping functions,’ and it’s true,” Colbert said. “I keep this piece of Ukraine. I keep that piece of Ukraine. I keep all the pieces of Ukraine. I am piece-keeping,” he said, imitating Putin.

“Putin appears to be inching toward a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Trump, of course, called him a genius and called the idea ‘wonderful’ today. What kind of hotel room hidden camera video does that Putin have? We want to see it already.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

So, that means no Russian money in the U.S. There goes Tucker Carlson’s sponsors.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

nside the newly opened Museum of the Future, which Dubai’s leader has called the ‘most beautiful building on earth’
CREDIT: Ali Haider/EPA

Pigeons line up on wires with a backdrop of heavy snowfall in the Kashmir valley
CREDIT: Photograph: Idrees Abbas/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

Snorkellers look for sharks in the Mediterranean Sea. The hot water gushing from a nearby industrial plant draws sandbar sharks to the area
CREDIT: Ariel Schalit/AP

Market Closes for February 23^rd, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1995, Wall Street was in what a trader at Furman Selz called a “jubilant, boisterous” mood as Alan Greenspan told Congress he saw no need for the Fed to raise interest rates. Less than four years after it broke the 3000 mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 4000 for the first time, finishing the day at 4003.33. The Wall Street Journal said the next day: “Stocks Cross 4000 for the First Time, But the Visit There May Be Brief,” and warns that a correction was “inevitable.”
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell for the fifth session, dropping to the lowest point in a month, as global governments expanded sanctions against Russia.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the fifth day, dropping 0.8%, or 163.65 to 20,744.17 in Toronto.
The index dropped to its lowest closing level since Jan. 28.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.3%. New Gold Inc. had the largest drop, falling 13.2%.
Today, 150 of 240 shares fell, while 88 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 1.7%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.8% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.8% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 15.7% above its low on Feb. 26, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 3.5% in the past 5 days and rose 0.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.2 on a trailing basis and 14.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.75% compared with 13.72% in the previous session and the average of 13.12% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -90.4675| -1.3| 1/27
* Industrials | -48.8497| -2.0| 3/27
* Information Technology | -21.0200| -1.5| 0/16
* Communication Services | -9.5168| -0.9| 0/7
* Consumer Discretionary | -6.6401| -0.9| 3/11
* Health Care | -3.6732| -2.6| 2/6
* Utilities | -2.2043| -0.2| 6/9
* Consumer Staples | -1.9210| -0.3| 3/8
* Real Estate | -0.4686| -0.1| 12/12
* Energy | 9.8020| 0.3| 23/8
* Materials | 11.3154| 0.4| 35/19
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Royal Bank of Canada | -18.1800| -1.3| -3.5| 4.6
* TD Bank | -17.5000| -1.3| -17.1| 7.9
* Canadian National | -15.9700| -2.4| -31.4| -1.3
* SSR Mining | 3.1230| 9.3| 107.2| 13.1
* Enbridge | 3.3340| 0.5| -54.7| 7.1
* Agnico Eagle Mines | 4.2030| 2.0| 6.9| 3.9

US
By Vildana Hajric and Elaine Chen
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities fell Wednesday as U.S. President Joe Biden expanded sanctions against Russia, with new penalties hitting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and its corporate officers.
The S&P 500 shed 1.8%, pushing further into correction territory, as technology stocks sold off amid the rising tensions and a cyberattack on several Ukraine government and bank websites.
Treasuries extended losses and the dollar was little changed.
Investors have been weighing the potential impact of an initial tranche of Western sanctions after Biden said Tuesday Russia had started to invade Ukraine.
The sanctions – and others by U.S. allies — stopped short of sweeping measures, though officials warned they could be scaled up.
“There was some optimism among investors we spoke to as the White House’s Russia sanctions were not as sweeping as originally expected, but our sense is that this saga is far from over and most of our contacts expect both additional sanctions in the days ahead as well as a targeted legislative package,” wrote BTIG’s Isaac Boltansky.
Fears that the Ukraine tension could snarl commodity supplies — putting further pressure on inflation —  has bolstered everything from energy to wheat and nickel.
Gold climbed.
Oil fluctuated after earlier gains.
Elsewhere, the CBOE Volatility index rose to the highest since late January before paring back advances.
A key question is whether or not the jump in raw material costs will spur more aggressive central bank policy.
Bets on the number of rate increases by the Federal Reserve in 2022 have settled at about six 25-basis-point hikes, down from seven on Feb. 11.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly repeated her view Wednesday that March is the appropriate time to begin adjusting monetary policy “absent any significant negative surprises.”
“The number one issue really is inflation and the Fed; that’s what everybody’s worried about,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “The situation in Ukraine is making it worse because it makes inflation worse — if oil prices and natural gas prices are going to remain elevated — that only makes the inflation concerns grow.”

President Vladimir Putin has denied Russia intends to invade Ukraine, however, lawmakers have given him the green light to deploy troops to separatist-held regions.
“There is still an overhang of doubt regarding Russia’s intentions and how far they plan on going with this process,” wrote Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies LLC.
“But for now, the expected case is what has happened as opposed to anything more than that.”
Here are some events to watch this week:
* Bank of Korea policy decision Thursday
* EIA crude oil inventory report Thursday
* Fed officials Loretta Mester and Raphael Bostic speak Thursday
* U.S. new home sales, GDP, initial jobless claims Thursday
* U.S. consumer income, U.S. durable goods, PCE deflator, University of Michigan consumer sentiment Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1305
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3544
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 115.00 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.99%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.48%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $92.18 a barrel
Have  a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil. -Alan Watts, 1915-1973.

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