February 28, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
February 28, 1953: Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes, at Cambridge University. Go to article » 

February 28, 1998: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.

Michel de Montaigne, writer, b.1553.
Bernadette Peters, actress, b.1948.

World’s best beaches for 2023, according to TripAdvisor.  Only one US beach made it on the top 10 list. Take a guess!

Spend 36 hours in Miami.

Scientists want to make AI with real brain cells.

Pilot makes a 360-degree turn to see the Northern Lights.

‘Microdiamonds’ discovered at French winery point to ancient meteor crater below the vines: A circular depression that holds a vineyard in a French winery is actually an old impact crater, new research finds.
The crater sits in the appropriately named Domaine du Météore winery near Cabrerolles in southern France. Full Story: Live Science (2/26)

Lab-grown minibrains will be used as ‘biological hardware’ to create new biocomputers, scientists propose: Lab-grown “minibrains” could someday be linked together to act as powerful and efficient biocomputers, scientists have suggested.
In a proposal published Feb 28. in the journal Frontiers in Science, a multidisciplinary group of researchers outlined their plans to transform 3D clumps of human brain cells, called brain organoids, into biological hardware capable of advanced computational tasks — a field they have named “organoid intelligence.” Full Story: Live Science (2/28)

What are ‘minibrains’? Everything to know about brain organoids: In the past decade, lab-grown blobs of human brain tissue began making news headlines, as they ushered in a new era of scientific discovery and raised a slew of ethical questions.
These blobs — scientifically known as brain organoids, but often called “minibrains” in the news — serve as miniature, simplified models of full-size human brains.  Full Story: Live Science (2/28)
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Katsura City, Japan
Japanese ornamental dolls (hina dolls) are displayed on the stone steps at Tomisaki shrine during the Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri festival
Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images

New Jersey, US
A person crosses a street during a snowfall
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Northern lights seen across the UK – in pictures
People watch the aurora borealis over the Hebrides in Scotland
Photograph: Hannah Close/PA
Market Closes for February 28^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1964, just under three years after breaking the 700 mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through 800 for the first time, closing at 800.14.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2% at 20,221.19 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Bank of Nova Scotia contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.7%.
Baytex Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.8%.
Today, 107 of 236 shares fell, while 126 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 2.6%
* The index declined 4.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 13.1% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and fell 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.57% compared with 7.63% in the previous session and the average of 8.99% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -37.4150| -1.1| 5/34
Financials | -26.7062| -0.4| 16/13
Industrials | -17.4196| -0.6| 13/12
Utilities | -6.3463| -0.7| 5/10
Real Estate | -0.7829| -0.1| 10/12
Consumer Staples | -0.3339| 0.0| 4/7
Communication Services | 0.3428| 0.0| 2/4
Health Care | 0.7790| 1.0| 5/2
Consumer Discretionary | 1.5645| 0.2| 11/4
Information Technology | 9.4447| 0.8| 10/4
Materials | 32.2416| 1.4| 45/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Bank of Nova Scotia| -33.6800| -5.7| 271.9| 1.7
Canadian National | -8.3700| -1.3| 133.6| -3.4
Canadian Pacific | -8.2310| -1.2| 11.6| 2.7
Manulife Financial | 5.3390| 1.5| 122.1| 11.7
First Quantum Minerals | 7.3280| 6.8| 123.2| 5.4
Shopify | 10.2000| 2.3| -15.9| 19.5
US
By Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped during the last stretch of Tuesday’s session and bonds pared earlier losses as investors rounded out a brutal month for both assets with low-conviction moves.
The S&P 500 suffered a February drop of 2.6%.
The Nasdaq 100 also didn’t manage to avert a monthly decline.
A dollar index rose the most in February since September.
The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed more than 10 basis points for the month.
The benchmark 10-year rate, meanwhile, rose more than 40 basis points in February.
Bonds in Europe also fell on Tuesday after hot inflation data caused a reassessment of rate expectations, picking up a theme that has dominated trading in a month that saw the Federal Reserve signal its intention to ratchet rates higher than the market had been anticipating.
Investors in February grappled with realization that inflation isn’t cooling to the extent the Fed would like to see, especially as key indicators the central bank is watching came in hotter than expected.
That subdued some of the optimism that had sent stocks soaring in January.
Bond traders no longer view the odds of a Fed rate cut this year as better-than-even, a shift from what they were expecting just a month ago.
Traders are now pricing US rates to peak at 5.4% this year, compared with about 5% just a month ago.
Market expectations also see the European Central Bank raising rates through February 2024, with a 4% ECB terminal rate fully priced.
“This whipsaw between narratives this year – Fed pause hopes being constructive for high beta assets, recession realities being the opposite – will continue,” Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, wrote in a note. “For this reason, and because the hurdle rate for keeping up with inflation is so high, we believe it’s important for investors to stay invested, leveraging resilient themes.”

Traders are also, once again, sifting through a bevy of economic data on Tuesday.
US consumer confidence declined in February because of concerns about the outlook for jobs, incomes and business conditions.
US home prices, meanwhile, fell for a sixth consecutive month.
“A lot of what the Fed is doing is working,” said Eric Diton, president and managing director of the Wealth Alliance, who noted layoffs at large companies and bankruptcies in small retail firms. “But it’s not a smooth ride. You’ll get blips — January was stronger data across the board and we’ll have to see what February and March look like. But I still think the overall trend is working — inflation is coming down, but it’s going to come down at this slower pace.”
Key events this week:
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, light vehicle sales, Wednesday
* Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Services PMI, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0576
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2027
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 136.20 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $23,254.31
* Ether fell 0.1% to $1,625.68
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.92%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.83%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $76.92 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,834.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Peyton Forte, Angel Adegbesan and Vildana Hajric.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. -Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012.
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