July 2, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: It’s  Halfway Day- 182^nd day of the year!

1776: Declaration of Independence, USA.

The glorious “Hamilton” comes to our living rooms tomorrow. It’s a dream to watch, critic Moira Macdonald writes in her roundup of new must-see streaming offers. –The Seattle Times.

Still-forming planet looks like flapping bat wings around a star. –Ellen Kominers, Bloomberg.

Monstrous black hole found devouring about one sun every day. -Bloomberg.

On July 2, 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. Go to article »

The jaunty song of the white-throated sparrow, above, plays on loop across North America, sounding something like “Old Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody.”  But it seems that Canadian sparrows want to sing something new. A study that took 20 years of research tracked how the song’s hook — its triplet ending — is being replaced by a new, doublet-ending variant, which sounds more like “Old Sam Peabuh-Peabuh-Peabuh-Peabuh.” You can listen to both versions here.
The new song is a certified hit and is making its way to the Northeastern United States: Some of the Canadian sparrows winter in the Southern U.S., where they’re probably sharing the song, like a passed-around mixtape. –The New York Times.

Interesting article:
Did a Chinese hack kill Canada’s greatest tech company? -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fireworks light up the sky in New York City, July 4^th firework displays are spread over 6 parts in locations around the city that are kept secret in an attempt to minimize crowds gathering in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CREDIT: ARTURO HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES

The Dollshouse Exhibition, a collection of over 70 Dollshouses created by Caroline Hamilton and Jane at Newby Hall, Fiddick, Skelton-on-Ure in North Yorkshire, England.
CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Children dive into the Buriganga River on a hot summer day in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
CREDIT: MAMUNUR RASHID/NURPHOTO

Market Closes for July 2^nd , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1862, the Internal Revenue Service was created by act of Congress to collect income taxes to finance the Civil War. Declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1895, federal income tax came back from the dead in 1913.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.7 percent, or 107.18 to 15,622.40 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since June 10. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 130 of 222 shares rose, while 90 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 8.4 percent. Seven Generations Energy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 14.9 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.9 percent
* The index declined 4.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.5 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 39.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.5 on a trailing basis and 24.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 92.8379| 5.8| 8/2
Real Estate | 13.8889| 2.8| 25/2
Utilities | 11.6800| 1.5| 14/2
Energy | 8.9120| 0.5| 15/9
Consumer Staples | 4.5611| 0.7| 7/2
Consumer Discretionary | 2.1575| 0.4| 9/4
Financials | 2.1541| 0.0| 11/14
Communication Services | 1.1679| 0.1| 5/3
Health Care | 0.3566| 0.2| 7/2
Industrials | -0.6120| 0.0| 16/12
Materials | -29.8964| -1.3| 13/38
of C$2.36t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 19.76 percent compared with 19.88 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.17 percent over the past month
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks pared gains on speculation that a second wave of coronavirus cases could jeopardize an economic rebound from the sharpest contraction on record. The S&P 500 came off session highs amid a plunge in trading volume ahead of a holiday on news that U.S. virus cases had the biggest increase since May 9. Earlier, Florida reported that infections and hospitalizations jumped the most ever, and Houston had a surge in intensive-care patients. The figures offset data showing payrolls increased by 4.8 million in June after an upwardly revised 2.7 million gain in the prior month.

The U.S. labor market made greater progress than expected last month digging out of a deep hole, yet optimism over the rebound was tempered by stubbornly high layoffs and a resurgent coronavirus outbreak across the country. President Donald Trump still said the report shows the economy is “roaring back.” Massive monetary and fiscal policy stimulus helped lower borrowing costs and keep the financial system liquid in a time of stress — while propelling the stock market higher. “There’s still a general positive sentiment about how quickly we’re seeing the recovery,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. “But we do think you’re going to see the recovery level off, especially if we continue to see higher case numbers on the virus.” Investors also assessed remarks from White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, who told Fox Business Network that “we are very unhappy with China” and “there are going to be export restrictions.” U.S. stocks are poised to rise this quarter if history is any guide, according to Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at SunTrust Private Wealth Management. Lerner cited the S&P 500’s track record after its biggest quarterly gains since 1950 in a report Tuesday. The gains ranged from 15% to 22%, in line with last quarter’s 20% increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In each case, the S&P 500 rose in the following quarter. The average advance was 8.4%.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 gained 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.4%.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1%.
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.124.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 107.53 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.67%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield sank three basis points to -0.43%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.186%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index advanced 0.7%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 1.2% to $40.29 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.5% to $1,788.30 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Michael Hunter, Todd White,
Sophie Caronello, Nancy Moran, David Wilson, Amena Saad and Vivien Lou Chen.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
                                                                   -Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

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