January 23, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

January 23, 1849: US Patent granted for an envelope-making machine to Jesse K. Park and Cornelius S. Watson.

January 23, In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh photographed the dwarf planet Pluto, and subsequently confirmed 3 weeks later.  Go to article >>.

On Jan. 23, 1845: Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

A look at what else happened in history on January 23.

Edouard Manet, artist, b.1932.

Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman MD, b.1849.

John Hancock, statesman, b. 1737

These are the hotels where HBO is filming The White Lotus Season 3.

Netflix paid $5 billion for wrestling’s “Raw” in bet on live events.

Blood test that screens for Alzheimer’s may be a step closer to reality
Researchers say this new blood test can be used to screen for Alzheimer’s disease with “high accuracy,” even before symptoms begin to show.

New sanctions on Russian diamonds
Nearly two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, a group of the world’s biggest economies have imposed a rolling ban on stones from the country. Here’s how it will change the global trade in gems.

How did the middle finger become so offensive?
The naughty middle finger gesture — or “flipping the bird” — was likely developed by Greeks around 2,500 years ago to offend each other. Read more about the most controversial digit.

Man explains why he stole ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers from museum
New court documents reveal why a Minnesota man stole the magical shoes used in the “The Wizard of Oz.”

“DeSantis posted a video announcing that he was dropping out, and during it he attributed a quote about failure to Winston Churchill, but Churchill never actually said it. See, this is what happens when you ban textbooks.” — JIMMY FALLON

“Yeah, when he saw the latest polls, DeSantis clicked his high heels together three times and said, ‘There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.’” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Plant life category: Pandora, by Marcio Cabral

‘This panorama shows the beauty of Chapada dos Veadeiros, a Brazilian national park that hosts a rich biodiversity and breathtaking landscapes. The white flowers that stand out in the foreground are a rare species of Paepalanthus, a genus of plants endemic to the region. They were illuminated by a scurion lamp to create a contrast with the dark sky. In the background, the Milky Way curves over the hills, revealing the colours and shapes of stars and nebulae. This pano was taken with a specialised camera for astrophotography’

Photograph: Marcio Cabral

Osona, Spain

Water levels are low at the Sau reservoir, which is at 5% of its capacity

Photograph: Marc Asensio/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Winner in the funny nature category: Monday, by Panisara Sripratoom

‘A spotted owlet (Athene brama) emerging from a hollow within a yellow flame tree situated in the university campus. This species of owl is characterised by its small size, primarily nocturnal feeding behaviour and frequent occurrence in urban environments. Without a sharp eye, this spotted owlet goes unnoticed … These spotted owlets, somehow, have shown their adaptability, finding a habitat within this modified urban environment’

Photograph: Panisara Sripratoom

Market Closes for January 23^rd, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

📈 On this day in 2002, Kenneth Lay resigned as chairman and chief executive of Enron. His departure came a little over a month after the energy-trading powerhouse filed for bankruptcy—then the biggest in U.S. history.

Canada

By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.5%, or 110.29 to 21,034.59 in Toronto.

The index advanced to the highest closing level since Jan. 15.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.0%.

Iamgold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 15.1%.
Today, 163 of 225 shares rose, while 59 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 0.4%
* The index advanced 2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.5% below its 52-week high on Jan. 12, 2024 and 12.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4% in the past 5 days and rose 0.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.5 on a trailing basis and 15.3 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$3.31t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.31% compared with 11.25% in the previous session and the average of 10.88% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 44.6155| 2.1| 43/8
Energy | 21.3467| 0.6| 32/8
Information Technology | 13.2599| 0.7| 6/4
Industrials | 12.9703| 0.4| 21/5
Consumer Discretionary | 6.1782| 0.8| 8/4
Consumer Staples | 5.5886| 0.6| 9/2
Communication Services | 4.5382| 0.6| 4/1
Financials | 3.4367| 0.1| 18/9
Real Estate | 0.3308| 0.1| 15/6
Health Care | 0.1022| 0.2| 3/1
Utilities | -2.0766| -0.3| 4/11
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 8.8480| 1.0| -33.5| 6.0
Barrick Gold | 6.6290| 2.6| 40.5| -9.9
Constellation Software | 5.1380| 1.0| -2.3| 11.4
Suncor Energy | -2.3550| -0.6| -56.4| 0.0
Bank of Montreal | -3.4280| -0.5| 51.7| -1.8
Bank of Nova Scotia | -5.4790| -1.1| -52.3| -5.2

US

By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — US stocks eked out a gain Tuesday, setting fresh closing highs ahead of an onslaught of company reports that promise insight into the state of the global economy. 
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closed at all-time highs for the second day this week, while the cyclically-oriented Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%.

United Airlines Holdings Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Verizon Communications Inc. all advanced on upbeat earnings reports while 3M Co. and Johnson & Johnson fell following disappointing guidance.
In post-market trading, Netflix Inc. jumped more than 7% after reporting subscriber growth that topped estimates.

Texas Instruments Inc. tumbled roughly 4% after a disappointing revenue forecast, its chipmaking rivals also slid. 
Investors are awaiting the results from the Republican presidential primary after voters in New Hampshire hit the polls Tuesday.  
Equities have largely been immune to the Federal Reserve’s warnings that interest-rate cuts are a ways off.
Instead investors have cheered the economy’s resilience even after the most aggressive policy-tightening cycle in decades.  
But some corners of Wall Street are starting to question if the rally will endure as swaps traders in the US rein in bets of a March rate cut. 
“The excitement is kind of gone at this point and everybody’s sobering up a little bit after the pivot party,”
Emily Roland, the co-chief investment strategist of John Hancock Investment Management, said by phone. “Multiple expansions are starting to get a little tapped out here.”
“Recent weeks have seen an increasingly optimistic narrative in markets,” said Henry Allen, a strategist at Deutsche Bank. “But can this be sustained? When financial conditions get as accommodative as they are right now, it doesn’t tend to last long.”  “The data has been impressively resilient,” he added. “But we know that investors will eventually adjust for repeated upside surprises.”
Goldman Sachs warns that fast-twitch traders may be forced to sell over the next few sessions after building $129 billion in long positions. 
Treasury yields mostly edged higher Tuesday with the benchmark 10-year at 4.14%.

The rate on policy-sensitive two-year fell 1 basis point to 4.38%.
“The bounce in 2-year yields off the YTD lows achieved last week should embolden dip buyers,” BMO Capital Markets’ Vail Hartman wrote.
US-listed Chinese shares gained after Bloomberg News reported Beijing is considering a package of measures to stabilize the falling stock market. 
Central banks are in focus this week.

While the Bank of Japan held rates steady, Governor Kazuo Ueda said the certainty of achieving its projections has continued to gradually increase.

That language supports the prevailing view among economists that the BOJ will raise rates at some point in the first part of this year. 
On Thursday, investor attention will shift to the European Central Bank’s meeting and whether officials there may indicate a start to policy easing.

The US will also get some of final pieces of data ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting with a fourth-quarter GDP readout Thursday and the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation on Friday.
Bitcoin slumped for a second day — retail investors have been growing more bearish on the world’s largest cryptocurrency, according to a Deutsche Bank report. 
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude dipped below $75 a barrel after the US advised caution for vessels transiting the Red Sea, but didn’t advise pausing shipping traffic. 

Corporate Highlights
* Apple Inc., reaching a make-or-break point in its decade-old effort to build a car, has pivoted to a less ambitious design with the intent of finally bringing an electric vehicle to market.
* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares jumped after the New York Times reported that founder Jack Ma has been buying up shares in the company.
* Johnson & Johnson shares slid after the company said drug sales will be lower in the second half of the year than the first.
* Verizon gave guidance for 2024 adjusted earnings per share that topped the average analyst estimates.
* Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. sank after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly orders.
* Coinbase Global Inc. fell after JPMorgan cut its recommendation on the cryptocurrency platform operator’s stock to underweight.

Key events this week:
* New Hampshire holds first-in-the-nation presidential primary, Tuesday
* Canada rate decision, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Services & Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* US S&P Global Services & Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* Eurozone ECB rate decision, Thursday
* Germany IFO business climate, Thursday
* US GDP, initial jobless claims, durable goods, wholesale inventories, new home sales, Thursday
* Japan Tokyo CPI, Friday
* US personal income & spending, Friday
* Bank of Japan issues minutes of policy meeting, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0850
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2686
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 148.36 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.7% to $39,120.72
* Ether fell 5.5% to $2,196.33
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.13%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 3.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $74.53 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,028.72 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Sujata Rao, Jason Scott, Divya Patil and Winnie Hsu.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Know how sublime a thing it is to suffer and be strong. –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882.

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