January 5, 2022 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 »

Contrary to what many say, money — and managing it properly — is one of the most important conditions for happiness. — Teresa Ghilarducci.

Everything you need to know about “flurona.” 

I don’t even want to do laundry on Earth, but apparently people want to do it in space.

Area goldfish learns how to drive a smol car. (h/t Mike Smedley)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
The head of 211kg bluefin tuna that was auctioned for about ¥16.9m ($145,290) is displayed at a sushi restaurant after the first tuna auction of the new year
CREDIT: Issei Kato/Reuters
A tree stands in flood water at the Ouse Washes in Norfolk
CREDIT: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Giovanni Bresadola of Italy competes during the qualification at the Four Hills tournament
CREDIT: Jasmin Walter/Getty Images

Market Closes for January 5^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Amazon.com said fourth-quarter sales had totaled $250 million, more than triple the level of the same quarter a year earlier. Fixated on Amazon’s revenue growth (and ignoring its widening net losses), traders went wild. On volume of 31.4 million shares, it was the most active stock on Nasdaq.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.9 percent at 21,039.88 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1 percent on Dec. 20 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1 percent.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 199 of 241 shares fell, while 38 rose.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.1 percent.
Docebo Inc. had the  largest drop, falling 12.7 percent.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 14 times. The next day, it advanced 10 times for an average 1.2 percent and declined four times for an average 0.8 percent
* The index advanced 19 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.5 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 21.6 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19 on a trailing basis and 15.1 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 rose to 15.55 percent compared with 15.41 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.81 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -66.4475| -3.1| 0/16
* Industrials | -38.3127| -1.5| 1/29
* Materials | -36.4526| -1.5| 9/45
* Financials | -22.0882| -0.3| 6/21
* Utilities | -14.1876| -1.5| 0/16
* Consumer Staples | -12.3797| -1.6| 0/11
* Real Estate | -12.1100| -1.9| 2/21
* Consumer Discretionary | -11.7619| -1.5| 2/12
* Health Care | -5.8943| -3.6| 0/8
* Communication Services | 2.1600| 0.2| 4/2
* Energy | 20.6099| 0.7| 14/18
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Brookfield Asset Management | -31.4400| -4.1| 4.7| -3.4
* Shopify | -30.2200| -2.5| 24.7| -13.1
* Constellation Software | -17.6100| -5.6| 15.6| -6.3
* TD Bank | 7.5000| 0.6| 223.6| 3.1
* Enbridge | 9.5860| 1.4| 44.5| 1.7
* Royal Bank of Canada | 14.4600| 1.1| 46.9| 3.0

US
By Jennifer Bissell-Linsk and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities deepened losses after minutes from the Federal Reserve flagged the chance of earlier and faster interest rate hikes.
The S&P 500 fell 1.9%, led by losses in real estate, while the Nasdaq 100 shed 3.1% as traders increased conviction the U.S. central bank will increase rates at least three times this year.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 1.71% the highest since April.
The dollar was little changed.
“Powell was as explicit as a Fed chair can be at the conclusion of the last meeting,” John Lynch, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management, said. “Statement and presser were a big shift with an accelerated taper and plans for three hikes in 2022.”
Technology stocks plunged for a second day as rising Treasury yields added to growth concerns.
Earlier in the session, the tech rout spread to Asia, with a gauge of Chinese names listed in Hong Kong at a six-year low.
However, Europe was mostly spared, with the Stoxx Europe 600 drifting to a record.
“At first blush the December FOMC minutes read hawkish, and the market reaction supports this,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth. “The fact that FOMC participants are discussing faster and more aggressive rate hikes, alongside a faster pace of balance sheet normalization than the last hiking, indicate that the Fed put for the stock market has been repriced lower.”
Markets have largely turned their attention to tightening monetary policy, however, concerns persist about the omicron variant’s threat to global growth.
Hong Kong reimposed social curbs and halted flights from eight countries.
Meanwhile, U.S.  school closings are accelerating as case counts soar.
“Keep in mind the timing of the [FOMC] meeting — even a few weeks ago we were in a very different place than we are now when it comes to omicron spreading. And while most predict a somewhat limited effect on the economy, it remains to be seen if the virus will overshadow the drive to curb inflation,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial.
So far, data suggest the U.S. economy is maintaining its resiliency in the face of the variant.
Ahead of Friday’s U.S. payrolls, a private jobs report Wednesday showed U.S. companies in December added the most jobs in seven months, indicating employers were able to fill a near-record number of open
positions.
Bitcoin tumbled 4.5% to $44,100, the lowest since its early-December weekend flash crash.
Gold was weaker and oil in New York pared back gains. 
What to watch this week:
* 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 fell 1.9% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1310
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3549
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 116.12 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.70%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to -0.08%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.09%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,809.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Emily Graffeo, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Michael MacKenzie and Andreea Papuc.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. –Anne Frank, 1929-1945.

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