February 24, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.
1903 The United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.  Go to article »

Steve Jobs, founder Apple Computers, b. 1955.
George Harrison, musician, b. 1943.

Pets can boost your brain power, study says.  The best type of therapist has fur and four legs! Not only do pets provide stress reduction, our furry (and scaly) friends also improve cognitive health.
 
Viola Davis plays Michelle Obama in new series “The First Lady”.  The pressure! Davis said it keeps her up at night knowing the Obamas might see her work.

A doghouse struck by a meteorite has sold at auction for $44,000.  Fun fact: Objects hit by meteorites are actually more valuable than the meteorite itself!

Did the dinosaurs die on a pleasant North Dakota spring day?

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Grace Wangare of the Ocean Sole flip- flop recycling company displays finished toys made from pieces of discarded flip-flops
CREDIT: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

A visitor looks at exhibits during the 41th International Contemporary Art Fair at Ifema. One hundred and eighty-five galleries from 30 countries are taking part
CREDIT: Samuel de Roman/Getty Images

The Lucerne carnival (Fasnacht) starts with the ‘Urknall’ (Big Bang) at five in the morning while a boat brings ‘brother Fritschi’, a traditional figure and his family to the city on Fat Thursday
CREDIT: Philipp Schmidli/EPA

Market Closes for February 24^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1982, the first stock-index futures began trading, as futures contracts on the Value Line stock index opened for dealing in the pits of the Kansas City Board of Trade
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks erased earlier losses, closing the session higher on a rally in technology stocks as investors weighed whether Russia’s invasion in Ukraine could cause central banks to ease on plans for aggressive interest rate hikes.
The S&P/TSX Composite advanced 0.1% to 20,761.93 in Toronto, ending a 5-day loss, led higher by tech. The S&P/TSX Composite Information and Technology Sector Index climbed 4.7%, the most in nearly three weeks.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.4%. Energy Fuels Inc/Canada had the largest increase, rising 12.1%.
Today, 116 of 240 shares rose, while 123 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 1.6%
* So far this week, the index fell 1.2%
* The index advanced 12% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.3% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.7% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 15.8% above its low on Feb. 26, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.9% in the past 5 days and rose 0.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 14.2 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$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.71% compared with 13.75% in the previous session and the average of 13.14% over the past month
================================================================
|Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology| 64.6146| 4.7| 15/1
Industrials | 30.3852| 1.3| 19/11
Energy | 17.9373| 0.6| 21/11
Utilities | 9.9965| 1.1| 13/3
Consumer Staples | 5.8355| 0.8| 6/5
Communication Services| 5.1672| 0.5| 2/5
Health Care | 3.0926| 2.2| 6/2
Real Estate | -1.5380| -0.2| 6/18
Consumer Discretionary| -2.0033| -0.3| 7/7
Materials | -11.5734| -0.4| 14/39
Financials | -104.1565| -1.5| 7/21
================================================================
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 40.0600| 6.4| 12.3| -51.2
Brookfield Asset Management | 15.5200| 2.3| 61.0| -10.7
Nutrien | 13.5500| 3.6| 110.7| 4.3
Bank of Nova Scotia| -18.5000| -2.4| 69.2| -0.8
Royal Bank of Canada | -28.1500| -2.1| 110.3| 2.5
TD Bank | -28.8800| -2.2| 37.6| 5.5
US
By Jennifer Bissell-Linsk and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased losses to trade higher Thursday, with investors finding refuge in large-cap American technology shares, as a decline in oil prices eased concern Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would result in an immediate worsening of the inflation picture.
The S&P 500 added 1.5%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 3.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3% higher after teetering on the edge of a correction as the conflict with Russia cast a pall over global markets.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 3.3% and Russian shares slumped the most on record.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia doesn’t plan to “occupy” its neighbor as military forces entered, accompanied by missile and artillery fire, but that action was necessary after the U.S. and its allies crossed Russia’s “red line” by expanding the NATO alliance.
U.S. President Joe Biden responded with additional sanctions Thursday and said the U.S. would release more strategic oil as conditions warrant.

“Russia invading Ukraine has added to an already tense year, with investors selling first and asking questions later,” Ryan Detrick, LPL Financial chief market strategist, said. “But it is important to know that past major geopolitical events were usually short-term market issues, especially if the economy was on solid footing.”
West Texas Intermediate crude pared back advances of as much as 9% to 1%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slid to 1.96%. Gold reversed previous gains.
Elsewhere, the dollar and yen jumped as the euro and commodity-linked currencies retreated.
The conflict threatens to disrupts the cost of raw materials and food globally as Russia remains a commodity powerhouse and Ukraine is a major grain exporter.
Earlier in the session, natural gas in Europe rose as much as 62% while metals spiked, piling on inflationary pressures.

“Central banks around the world have really taken a concerted effort to tamp down inflation without significant disruption or without the likelihood of monetary policy mistakes,” said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Global Investments. “If we have inflation pressures accelerating at the same time that growth prospects diminishing, that’s definitely concerning.”
Such a backdrop heralds fresh challenges for a global recovery that was already struggling with elevated prices and tightening monetary policy.
Money market indicators for inflation expectations are rearing up again.
Two-year breakeven rates on U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities — or the difference between those yields and the ones on typical Treasuries — are at the highest since Bloomberg started compiling the data in 2004.
“This is a triple-hit to the global economy, with a toxic combination of higher inflation, lower economic growth, and greater uncertainty,” Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro, said. “The only silver lining is growth is strong, a buffer to any slowdown, and policymakers and investors already prepared for high inflation.”
Investors remain worried that Fed tightening could choke expansion in the world’s largest economy.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said a U.S. rate hike in March remains appropriate, barring an unexpected turn, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he’s open to four or more rate
hikes, depending on the data.
Expectations for six quarter-point hikes by the Fed this year remain in line with what was priced in before the attacks on Ukraine. 
Here are some events to watch this week:
* 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 rose 1.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 3.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.8%
* The euro fell 0.9% to $1.1200
* The British pound fell 1.1% to $1.3391
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 115.60 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.96%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 0.17%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 1.45%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $93.27 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.6% to $1,899.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Peyton Forte, Cecile Gutscher, Sunil Jagwani and Andreea Papuc.
Have  a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

There ain’t nothing but one thing wrong with every one of us, and that’s selfishness. –Will Rogers,  1879-1935.

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