January 5, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Jan. 5, 1914, Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, introduced a minimum wage scale of $5 per day.  Go to article »
January 5, 1919: German Workers’ Party forms, precursor to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi).

The Milky Way gets a new origin story.

The galaxy is probably full of dead civilizations.

Massive “Superhenge” found buried just two miles from Stonehenge.

For our former 52 Places traveler Sebastian Modak, Cartagena’s waters were “bluer than anything I’ve seen since.” We may not be able to go swimming, but he suggests a few ways to channel the magic of the city at home. –The New York Times.

Late Night Show hosts are back after the holidays:
“He had another perfect call over the weekend.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“Trump asked him to somehow find enough votes to flip Georgia, so that he would win the state by one vote. One vote. Trump was like, ‘Because if we’re going to do this,
we can’t make it obvious.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“Now, now, buckle up everybody, because this call is like if Watergate and the Ukraine scandal had a baby that they made on the ‘Access Hollywood’ bus,” Stephen Colbert said. “When you’re a star, they let you do it.”

“He tried everything. He bragged, he challenged, he threatened. He told the secretary of state he would come to Georgia and eat all their peaches — nothing.” — JIMMY KIMMEL
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An Antony Gormley statue on a building in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, appears to balance the moon and a pigeon
CREDIT: PAUL MARRIOTT

Lovebirds perch on a branch at at Antalya Zoo in Turkey
CREIDT: MUSTAFA CIFTCI/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

The American Kennel Club has announced that the tiny, chipper Biewer – pronounced like “beaver” – has become its 197^th recognized breed. That makes the toy dogs eligible to compete for best in show at many U.S. events, including the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club show, which will be held in June this year instead of its usual February date.
CREDIT: BIWER TERRIER CLUB OF AMERICA AND AMERICAN KENNEK CLUB VIA AP
Market Closes for January 5^th, 2021 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Twenty-year mortgages are going for 0% in Denmark.

On this day in 1999, Amazon said fourth-quarter sales totaled $250 million, more than triple the level of the same quarter a year earlier. Fixated on its revenue growth (and ignoring widening net losses), traders went wild. The stock surged on a trading volume of 31.4 million shares, making it the most active stock on the Nasdaq.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares climbed on Tuesday, extending Monday’s gains as energy stocks surged with oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.9% to 17,682.51, edging closer to its all-time high of 17,944.06 reached last Feb. 20.
Energy stocks were the main drivers as Saudi Arabia pledged to voluntarily cut oil output by an extra 1 million barrels a day from next month, while most of the OPEC+ alliance agreed to hold output steady.
Meanwhile, Canada’s vaccine rollout has been slower than expected and the laggardly pace could prompt a reassessment of how robust the country’s economic recovery will be, according to Bank of Montreal. Only 0.32% of the Canadian population had been inoculated as of Monday, making it a “relative underperformer” versus peers such as the U.S. and the U.K., which have both vaccinated 1.4%, Doug Porter, chief economist at the Toronto- based lender, said Tuesday in a report to investors.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $15.35 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,948.77 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.8% to C$1.2679 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 0.707%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.9 percent, or 154.74 to 17,682.51 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.1 percent on Nov. 24.
Today, energy stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained; 151 of 222 shares rose, while 71 fell. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.6 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. had the largest increase, rising 9.6 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 3.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI  AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 58.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 0.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.7 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.71t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.61 percent compared with 8.45 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.98 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 102.8507| 5.2| 23/0
Financials | 19.2157| 0.4| 21/5
Industrials | 17.9470| 0.8| 24/5
Information Technology | 16.3083| 0.9| 7/3
Communication Services | 9.7907| 1.1| 6/1
Consumer Discretionary | 7.6980| 1.1| 9/4
Real Estate | 3.8093| 0.7| 21/5
Health Care | 2.0097| 1.0| 5/4
Consumer Staples | -0.6318| -0.1| 5/6
Utilities | -1.7795| -0.2| 11/5
Materials | -22.4833| -0.9| 19/33
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose and bonds dropped amid key elections in Georgia that will decide which party controls the U.S. Senate for the next two years, setting the scope of President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.
In a session marked by thin trading volume, the S&P 500 rebounded after suffering its worst start to a year since 2016. Energy shares surged as oil traded near $50 a barrel, while the Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies jumped 1.7%. With markets factoring in a greater chance of a Democratic sweep in Congress, some analysts see the potential for increased volatility. In anticipation to the outcome of the vote, which will likely be known on Wednesday, Treasury yields climbed — with a key curve measure reaching its steepest level in four years. The dollar slid to the lowest since February 2018. Whether or not Wall Street is getting more comfortable with the idea of Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress, the scenario implies the possibility of a more generous stimulus package. That could also potentially lead to upward pressure on inflation and interest rates as well as higher taxes to pay for fiscal aid. Conversely, should either Republican incumbent win re-election, the party would have enough votes to block any Biden initiative. “We don’t view a Democrat Senate as a bearish game changer in the short term because there would still be a lot of positives in this market,” Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter, wrote in a note to clients. “We’d look to buy on any material dip, but we should brace for more volatility going forward if that’s the outcome from today’s election.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump failed again to invalidate his election loss in Georgia and allow the state’s Republican-led legislature to declare him the winner – his latest courtroom defeat in a quixotic effort to remain in office despite losing the Nov. 3 vote. Another news development that caught investors’ attention on Tuesday was the New York Stock Exchange’s surprise move to spare three major Chinese telecommunications companies from being delisted. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called NYSE Group Inc. President Stacey Cunningham to express his disapproval with the decision, according to two people familiar with the matter. Several U.S. officials said the move marks a temporary reprieve, not a sign that tensions between Washington and Beijing are easing.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia surprised the oil market with a large reduction in its output for February and March, carrying a greater burden of OPEC+ cuts while other producers hold steady or make small increases.
What to watch this week:
* U.S. Congress meets to count electoral votes and declare the winner of the 2020 Presidential election Wednesday.
* FOMC minutes out Wednesday.
* U.S. unemployment report for December is due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.5%.
* The euro increased 0.4% to $1.2297.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 102.66 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 0.94%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.209%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude surged 4.9% to $49.93 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.3% to $1,949.70 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Cecile Gutscher, Yakob Peterseil, David Wilson, Nancy Moran and Sophie Caronello.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If the only prayer you say throughout your life is “Thank You,” then that will be enough.
                                                                                     -Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016

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