January 4, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy New Year!

1974 President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.  Go to article »

Isaac Newton, physicist, b.1643.
Louis Braille, inventor, b. 1809.
Jacob Grimm, author, b. 1785.

RIP, your BlackBerry. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

Mercedes unveils new electric car concept with parts made of sustainable materials like mushroom fibers, ground up cacti and food scraps.  Finally, a car with a flavor profile!

Sweetgreen, a fancy salad chain, is selling a salad subscription.  Fancy salads are an important part of the “new year, new me” fantasy, so the timing here is impeccable. 

RBG’s private library is coming to auction.

Germany enlists sheep, goats to pitch vaccines.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland, after weather forecasters warned that parts of the UK will face localised blizzard conditions and up to 80mph winds as the mild seasonal highs of the past few days are replaced by a cold front
CREDIT: Owen Humphreys/PA
People visit Kanda Myojin Shrine to offer new year prayers on the first business day of the year
CREDIT: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Participants recover at the finish line during the women’s mass start free 10km event at the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme
CREDIT: Giovanni Auletta/AP

Market Closes for January 4^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1865, the New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent building at the corner of Broad and Wall Streets in Manhattan, after decades of shifting from one rented or borrowed space to another.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 21,236.52 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3 percent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.4 percent.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest increase, rising 16.4 percent.
Today, 118 of 240 shares rose, while 121 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 22 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 27 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.6 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 22.8 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 2.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.2 on a trailing basis and 15.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.4t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.41 percent compared with 15.44 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.77 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 122.6369| 1.8| 22/6
* Energy | 67.3657| 2.4| 31/1
* Industrials | 12.2938| 0.5| 17/13
* Consumer Discretionary| 10.7664| 1.4| 10/4
* Health Care | 3.2652| 2.0| 8/0
* Communication Services| 1.1476| 0.1| 3/4
* Utilities | -6.9595| -0.7| 2/14
* Consumer Staples | -6.9780| -0.9| 3/8
* Real Estate | -9.6576| -1.5| 3/19
* Materials | -22.6257| -0.9| 15/40
* Information Technology| -157.5661| -6.9| 4/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
| Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* TD Bank | 29.6300| 2.4| 376.4| 2.4
* Royal Bank of Canada | 25.3100| 1.9| 42.2| 1.9
* Bank of Montreal | 21.6900| 3.6| 128.5| 3.6
* Couche-Tard | -5.1870| -1.7| 41.5| -1.7
* Nutrien | -15.0000| -4.0| 120.9| -4.0
* Shopify | -147.7000| -10.9| 101.9| -10.9
US
By Vildana Hajric and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slipped from an all-time high after worries over rising interest rates sparked a selloff in tech shares.
Treasuries fell and the yen dropped to the lowest since 2017.
The S&P 500 was little changed Tuesday as data showed mixed signs on U.S. inflation ahead of three expected rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year.
Prices paid by manufacturers in December came in sharply lower than expected, adding to signs inflationary pressure may have peaked in some areas.
However, data showing a record U.S. job quit rate added to concerns over wage inflation.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.3% with Tesla Inc. shedding 4.2%.
Cathie Wood’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF plunged 4.4% and a fund tracking newly public companies dropped 4.0%.
The losses came as a rout in U.S. bonds continued Tuesday with the 10-year Treasury yield up two basis points to 1.65% after surging 12 basis points on Monday.
“The 10-year Treasury yield is on fire and that could be weighing on sentiment for growth stocks, especially expensive ones, such as tech and semis,” Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners, said.
Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, added the slide seemed like a delayed response to the rise in long-term interest rates.
“Yesterday’s big bounce in the 10-year yield did not seem to have a definitive catalyst, so some investors thought it might not hold,” he said. “Since the rise is holding today, even extending, stock investors are finally reacting to it.”
Markets anticipate an uptick in volatility as they navigate through the omicron variant, supply-chain disruptions and more central banks winding back pandemic stimulus.
More than one million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Monday, a new global daily record.
“With bond yields moving higher the market is adjusting tech lower,” Luke Hickmore, investment director at Standard Life Investments said. “Tech is suffering from the long duration nature of these assets — i.e. it is generally a long time until the current valuation is supported by earnings in a normal multiple.”
Traders expect tightening from the Fed to boost yields and reset equity valuations.
Meanwhile, this week’s U.S. December payroll data and minutes from the Fed’s meeting last month may throw more light on the pace of such a shift.
Bitcoin rose to about $46,200. Gold climbed.
The dollar was little changed.
And crude oil in New York gained after OPEC+ agreed to revive more oil supplies.
What to watch this week:
* FOMC meeting minutes scheduled for release Wednesday
* Fed’s Bullard discusses the U.S. economy and monetary policy in an event on Thursday
* Fed’s Daly discusses monetary policy on a panel Friday
* ECB’s Schnabel speaks on a panel Saturday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1286
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3531
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 116.11 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.65%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.12%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 1.08%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $76.97 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.9% to $1,815.50 an ounce
–With assistance from Denitsa Tsekova and Emily Graffeo.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As always,

Carolann

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. –George Edward Woodberry, 1855-1930.

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