January 13, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
2000 – Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as chief executive. Go to article >>

Ocean temperatures are the highest on record. -Bloomberg.
Middle-age misery peaks at 47.2 years, a study has shown.-Bloomberg

Poem:

Practice
-by Susan Barba

Your anger is a scrim,
clouding your vision.

You see, you hear,
and the you testify, you judge.

Write the necessary elegies,
the songs of temporary

fury.  Human seasons are
as leaves, not oaks.

See what forest
has arisen from the rot.

Allow yourself
to be as generous.

          *

Oak, whose girth
exceeds my reach

forever I am
at your feet,
looking up.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Early morning sunshine on the Jurassic Cliffs at Charmouth in West Dorset. The orange glow helps to stand out the horse riders as they able along the sea edge even though the sea was rough.
CREDIT: RICHARD AUSTIN

Lightning strikes as a column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano as it erupts in the Philippines.
CREDIT: EZRA ACAYAN/GETTY IMAGES

Glastonbury Body Art Festival 2020 – The Realm of Psychedelia A psychedelic U.V catwalk of amazing artwork painted on the human body. 30 talented artists and models from around the country let their imaginations run wild to create fantastical bright colourful creatures and beings that live in a realm called Psychedelia.
CREDIT: JASON BRYANT/ APEX

Market Closes for January 13^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Saudi Aramco said it netted an additional $3.8 billion from its record initial public offering as it sold more shares to meet investor demand, boosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s war chest to reshape the country’s oil-dependent economy. Aramco’s IPO is now worth $29.4 billion. The previous record holder, Chinese online commerce company Alibaba, had raised $25 billion in 2014.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3 percent at 17,293.42 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s little change.Today, industrials stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 136 of 234 shares rose, while 93 fell. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2 percent. Hexo Corp. had the largest increase, rising 13.8 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 16 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0 percent below its 52-week high on Jan. 13, 2020 and 16.4 percent above its low on Jan. 11, 2019
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.6 on a trailing basis and 15.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.65t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 4.98 percent compared with 4.89 percent in the previous session and the average of 4.88 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | 25.4864| 1.3| 24/7
Financials | 24.4922| 0.4| 19/7
Information Technology | 15.2953| 1.5| 8/2
Health Care | 9.9918| 4.9| 10/0
Real Estate | 3.6962| 0.6| 23/2
Communication Services | 2.5032| 0.3| 4/4
Utilities | 1.3889| 0.2| 11/5
Consumer Discretionary | -0.1003| 0.0| 8/9
Energy | -0.7454| 0.0| 9/19
Consumer Staples | -3.6204| -0.5| 2/8
Materials | -19.4646| -1.0| 18/30
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — Technology shares pushed U.S. stocks to records in a week expected to be dominated by the start of earnings season and the signing of a partial China trade deal. Apple, Tesla and Microsoft sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index to closing all-time highs. Gains extended after the U.S. was said to plan to lift its designation of China as a currency manipulator. Earnings from some of the biggest U.S. banks kick off the season Tuesday, amid forecasts that overall corporate profits will show the smallest growth in three years. “Our expectation is a solid earnings season – nothing extraordinary but nothing really terrible,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, told Bloomberg TV. “The environment is so accommodative that it really is supportive of risk assets, including equities, even if we have a lackluster earnings season.”
The pound led declines among Group-of-10 currencies after another Bank of England official pointed to a potential vote for a U.K. interest-rate cut this month and data showed the economy unexpectedly shrank. Germany’s benchmark bund yield had its least negative closing level since May. The offshore yuan strengthened past 6.9 per dollar for the first time since July. The dollar edged higher and Treasuries fell across the curve as the completion of the first trade deal nears; President Donald Trump has said the U.S. and China will sign the accord on Wednesday. The U.S. in August first formally labeled China a currency-manipulator, a move that further escalated the trade war with Beijing after the country’s central bank allowed the yuan to fall in retaliation to new U.S. tariffs.
“The consumer is super strong, the economy is strong, but slowing. The Fed’s on the sidelines. China’s on the sidelines now as a headline, and we dodged the giant bullet with Iran, no pun intended,” said Nancy Tengler, chief investment strategist at Tengler Wealth Management. “And so what you have is no news and everything is kind of OK.” Elsewhere, equities fell in Europe and advanced in all major Asian markets except Japan, where there was a holiday, and Australia. Oil fluctuated after last week posting its steepest loss since July.

Here are some events to watch for this week:
* Phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal is set to be signed on Wednesday in Washington.
* The biggest American financial institutions kick off earnings season, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and BlackRock Inc.
* The U.S. releases inflation data for December on Tuesday.
* The Fed’s so-called beige book is due on Wednesday.
* China GDP comes on Friday.

These are some of the moves in major markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index increased 0.7% to 3,288.06 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record with the largest climb in more than a week.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 28,905.49.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1% to 9,273.93, the highest on record with the largest climb in more than a week.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2% to 418.39, the biggest fall in a week.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.5% to 573.41, the highest on record.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,193.
*The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1137, the largest advance in a week.
*The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 109.93 per dollar, the weakest in about eight months.
*The British pound declined 0.5% to $1.2994, hitting the weakest in more than two weeks with its fifth consecutive decline and the largest decrease in more than a week.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 1.58%, the highest in more than two weeks.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed two basis points to 1.84%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.75%, the lowest in more than a week.
*Germany’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to -0.16%, the highest in almost eight months.
Commodities
*Gold depreciated 0.8% to $1,549.01 an ounce, the weakest in more than a week.
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $58.07 a barrel, hitting the lowest in almost six weeks with its fifth straight decline.
–With assistance from Claire Ballentine.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann

Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
                          -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