July 16, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.
On this day in 1945, a device innocuously called “Gadget” was tested successfully near Alamogordo, N.M. It was the world’s first atomic bomb, and it detonated at 5:29:45 a.m., releasing 20 kilotons of energy and vaporizing its 100-foot steel support tower. The Nuclear Age had secretly begun.

The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts. –Omar Bradley, 1893-1981.

Someone spent $28 million for a seat on the Bezos space flight, and now they’re bailing due to ‘scheduling conflicts‘.  What are they doing that’s more important than $28 million … and going to SPACE?!

These are the most popular emojis in the world.  They’re actually pretty tame! Good job, world. 

Russian oligarch settles U.K. divorce for $186 million—keeps yacht.

From the Late Night Hosts:
“During a visit to the White House yesterday, pop star Olivia Rodrigo made a surprise appearance at the afternoon press briefing to help promote youth vaccinations, which should have a big impact on the millions of teens who watch the White House press briefings.” — SETH MEYERS

In a new book about Donald Trump’s final year in office, the authors write that Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, feared Trump would attempt to stage a coup to remain in power after losing the election. Trump responded on Thursday: “If I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is Gen. Mark Milley.”

“You can tell a leader really knows his stuff when he uses the phrase ‘do a coup,’” Fallon said of Trump, who belittled a general for fearing he might try to stay in power.

“In a new book, Milley reveals that following the election night, he thought the ex-president ‘was stoking unrest, possibly in hopes of an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act and call out the military,’ saying, ‘This is a Reichstag moment.’ No surprise — the last president was very popular with the alt-Reich.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“We really need to come up with a better early warning system than tell-all books. ‘We’re in danger — quick, get me a typewriter!’” — SETH MEYERS

“OK, you’ve clearly put some thought into this thing you’re ‘not into.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Of course, the Reichstag fire was in 1930s Germany, when an attack on the country’s legislative branch was used as a pretext to solidify fascist control. What the MAGA crowd did this year was totally different — because it was in English.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People enjoy the hot weather as they take punt tours along the River Cam in Cambridge
CREDIT: JOE GIDENS/PA WIRE

A woman charges at a flock of pigeons during hot summer day in western Moscow. Russia’s meteorological service said on July 13, the country could see its hottest summer on record, driven by climate change, after a record-breaking heatwave in June  
CREDIT: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A bee probes a purple coneflower for nectar in a garden at Pettingill School Park in Lewiston, Maine
CREDIT: RUSS DILLINGHAM/SUN JOURNAL VIA AP

A body double for Harrison Ford and Boyd Holbrook are seen on a horse and motorbike during a parade scene on St Vincent Street in Glasgow city centre during filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford
CREDIT: ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA WIRE

Market Closes for July 16^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     It’s waiting that helps you as an investor, and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. –Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway, b. 1924.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Friday, capping off a week of declines as commodity-exposed stocks including oil and materials weakened. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 1% Friday, with materials and cannabis among laggards. Utilities gained. Oil declined the most this week since March as a resurgence of Covid-19 threatened the outlook for global fuel consumption in the near-term. The U.S. is clashing with Mexico and Canada over rules for cars shipped across regional borders, with automakers and governments telling the Biden administration that it’s imperiling the success of their new trade pact.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $13.35 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1% to $1,811.10 an ounce
FX/ Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.1% to C$1.2608 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 1.9 basis points to 1.243%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1 percent at 19,985.54 in Toronto.  The move was the biggest since falling 1.1 percent on July 8 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2 percent. Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 7 of 11 sectors lost; 177 of 231 shares fell, while 52 rose. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.4 percent. Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 15.6 percent.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 17 times. The next day, it advanced 12 times for an average 0.9 percent and declined five times for an average 0.7 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 1.3 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Feb. 26
* The index advanced 25 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 36 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.9 percent below its 52-week high on July 7, 2021 and 29.6 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23 on a trailing basis and 16.5 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$3.17t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.48 percent compared with 6.94 percent in the previous session and the average of 7.46 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -81.6499| -3.4| 0/53
* Financials | -55.1235| -0.9| 6/21
* Energy | -41.8711| -1.7| 1/22
* Consumer Discretionary | -10.5268| -1.4| 1/12
* Health Care | -7.3214| -2.9| 2/8
* Industrials | -7.0809| -0.3| 8/22
* Information Technology | -5.4876| -0.2| 1/11
* Real Estate | 0.4529| 0.1| 9/16
* Consumer Staples | 2.5083| 0.3| 7/6
* Communication Services | 2.9516| 0.3| 5/2
* Utilities | 4.9639| 0.5| 12/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Royal Bank of | | | |
* Canada | -17.5400| -1.4| 198.6| 21.9
* Canadian Natural | | | |
* Resources | -13.8500| -4.0| -38.7| 33.5
* First Quantum | | | |
* Minerals | -10.1000| -9.6| 71.6| 7.8
* Thomson Reuters | 2.0270| 1.4| 15.1| 23.9
* Waste Connections | 2.3750| 0.9| -35.4| 18.9
* Shopify | 3.7990| 0.3| -26.1| 26.6

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell on the week for the first time in a month as accelerating inflation raises concern about the sustainability of the economic expansion. Treasury yields fell for a three consecutive week. Energy and material shares led the benchmark S&P 500 lower on Friday, four days after the benchmark U.S. equity index closed at another record high.  Amazon.com continued its retreat from all-time highs, helping to send the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lower. Small cap stocks were hit hard, with the Russell 2000 having its worst weekly decline since October.  The 10-year Treasury note yield registered a third week of declines. “Investors are thinking about what’s next. This is where those cross currents are,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. “Earnings have been strong, but there’s still an uncertainty about what happens going forward.” Stocks erased an earlier gain Friday after a report showed the University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index decreased to 80.8 in July from 85.5 the prior month.  The figure was lower than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey which had a median projection of 86.5. Investors had turned their attention to corporate earnings, with optimism over resurgent consumer demand tempered by the spread of the coronavirus delta variant.
The outlook for stocks was held up by repeated assurances this week from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that the post-lockdown surge in inflation didn’t yet warrant a tapering of stimulus. Powell defended the central bank’s accommodative stance for a second time in two days on Thursday in his testimonies to lawmakers.  The Fed’s stance underscores a growing divergence among global central banks on their response to growing price pressures.  Policy makers from New Zealand to Canada and the U.K. are turning hawkish, making investors wonder how long could the Fed afford to remain dovish. “Jerome Powell said that the recovery still had a way to go,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “This is movement in the right direction.” Oil posted its biggest weekly loss since mid-March as markets face the prospect of extra supplies from the OPEC+ coalition, as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia repair a rift that has stymied the group’s decision-making process.  A stronger dollar has also dimmed the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency this week.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.8% as of 4:06 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1804
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.3763
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 110.05 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 0.63%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $71.52 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,812 an ounce
Have a  wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land,
or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. –Helen Keller, 1880-1968.

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