July 28, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

July 28^th, 1896: The Olympic Games return to Athens, Greece, the birthplace  of the ancient Olympics, after a hiatus of over a century, rekindling the spirit f athletic competition on a global stage.

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. World War I began as declarations of war by other European nations quickly followed.  Go to article >>

Jaqueline Kennedy, first lady, b. 1929.
Beatrix Potter, writer, b. 1866.
Marcel Duchamp, surrealist, b.1887.
Terry Fox, b.b1958.

Taylor Swift fans cause record-breaking seismic activity at concerts.  Dancing fans at Swift’s concerts in Seattle caused seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake. Swifties, I knew you were trouble … try not to shake the Earth too much.

The fate of AI in music.  See how people are using voice cloning in songs — and why a 1980s Bette Midler lawsuit could decide the fate of artificial intelligence in music.

Blood pressure is best lowered by these 2 exercises.  A new study suggests exercises that engage muscles without movement — such as wall squats and planks — may be best for lowering blood pressure.

Ruins of ancient Roman emperor Nero’s theater unearthed in ‘exceptional’ discovery in Rome
Archaeologists may have found the ruins of Nero’s theater, a first-century imperial performance space whose whereabouts had remained largely elusive. Read More.

Plastic-eating fungi could help take a bite out of Earth’s rampant pollution crisis, study suggests.  When their preferred meal isn’t available, wood-decaying fungi can chow down on plastic instead.
Full Story: Live Science (7/27)

Nematode resurrected from Siberian permafrost lay dormant for 46,000 years
The nematode has lain dormant in a fossilized squirrel burrow since the late Pleistocene, revealing that these worms can survive for tens of thousands of years longer than thought.  Read More.

Predicting earthquakes is currently impossible. GPS data could help change that
Global Positioning System (GPS) data could help spot early warning signs two hours before a big quake strikes. Read More.

RIP Randy Meisner, a founding member of the legendary rock band the Eagles, has died, according to an announcement on the band’s official website. He was 77. The bassist and vocalist contributed to some of the band’s most iconic songs, including “Try and Love Again” and “Take it to the Limit.”
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Madrid, Spain:  Ralf Hütter, Fritz Hilpert, Henning Schmitz and Falk Grieffenhagen of Kraftwerk perform at the Universal Music festival in Teatro Real.  Photograph: Aldara Zarraoa/Redferns

Liverpool, UK: Peter Walker stands next to his art installation, Identity, at Liverpool Cathedral. The work features seven illuminated columns, with individual strips of light representing the double helix.
Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Media

Florida, US: SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral.  Photograph: Joe Marino/UPI/Shutterstock
Market Closes for July 28^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1971, Wells Fargo launched the world’s first stock-index fund with $6 million from the pension fund of Samsonite Corp.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7% at 20,519.37 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest gain since July 18 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.9%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.2%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 15.2%.
Today, 165 of 228 shares rose, while 63 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.8%
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 5.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 12% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.6% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 14.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.4 on a trailing basis and 14.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.54% compared with 10.45% in the previous session and the average of 10.71% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 35.8080| 2.3| 11/0
Energy | 33.6563| 1.0| 37/3
Materials | 29.6897| 1.2| 43/7
Industrials | 28.1089| 1.0| 20/6
Financials | 14.2185| 0.2| 22/7
Health Care | 1.7785| 3.0| 4/0
Consumer Discretionary | 1.2944| 0.2| 8/7
Communication Services | -0.2114| 0.0| 3/2
Consumer Staples | -2.8604| -0.3| 6/5
Real Estate | -3.1119| -0.6| 7/14
Utilities | -4.4539| -0.5| 4/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 22.9900| 3.2| -16.9| 85.9
Canadian National | 13.3500| 2.0| 4.9| -0.6
Canadian Natural Resources | 12.5000| 2.1| -55.0| 6.4
Telus | -2.6190| -1.1| 25.3| -9.6
Enbridge | -6.5160| -1.0| 26.8| -8.9
TC Energy | -14.6700| -4.3| 190.6| -16.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street shook off worries over the Bank of Japan policy tweak as another round of US data bolstered bets on the so-called Goldilocks scenario of an economy that’s neither running too hot nor too cold.
The stock market powered ahead as key gauges of inflation showed further easing while Americans grew more optimistic about the economic outlook.
When taken together with recent figures showing the US has remained fairly resilient despite aggressive rate hikes, the reports fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will be able to avoid a recession.
It’s a week “chock full of economic data that all points to a higher probability of a soft landing,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “This could be the catalyst to send the market to new highs.”
Mega-caps led gains in equities Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 up almost 2% and the S&P 500 rising 1% and notching its third straight weekly advance. Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. each climbed more than 4%, while Intel Corp. rallied about 6.5% on a bullish sales forecast. Bond yields fell alongside the dollar.
Tech firms in the US are talking less about recession and more about artificial intelligence this earnings season — signaling that companies are increasingly optimistic about a soft economic landing.
Nearly half of the Nasdaq 100 firms have reported their results, and executives are less frequently using words like “headwinds”, “inflation”, and “recession” in calls with investors, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
That’s a sharp reversal from last year, when such concerns drove steep equity losses.
With the macro environment being quite powerful right now, investors are buying the notion that the Fed has been able to bring inflation down without a recession, according to David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Private Wealth US.
“The market has had a trifecta of good news over the last few weeks,” Donabedian said. “Inflation is coming down, the economy is holding steady, and earnings thus far are coming in ahead of expectations. This is fueling a strong market environment and the rally continues.”
In what looked like a “sell the rumor, buy the news” episode, US markets saw a reversal from Thursday, when anxiety was running high before the BOJ decision.
Governor Kazuo Ueda announced Friday the central bank would allow yields to rise above a ceiling it now calls a point of reference.
That paves the way for a future normalization of policy that has implications for a wide range of global assets and markets heavily exposed to Japanese money.
Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds jumped to their highest since 2014 as investors speculated whether this tweak monetary policy.
Any significant adjustment to the YCC policy would have implications for the Treasury market given that Japan households are one of the largest buyers of US debt, according to Dennis DeBusschere founder of 22V Research.
The rationale is: if yields in Japan become more attractive, there could be selling of US government bonds to buy the Asian nation’s debt.
“But the actual YCC change was not as dramatic as feared,” he noted.
In corporate news, US regional lenders posted their longest streak of weekly gains since March 2021, bolstered by a merger deal for PacWest Bancorp.
Procter & Gamble Co. rallied Friday as the maker of Gillette razors reported earnings that beat estimates.
Ford Motor Co. slipped as it expects to see losses from electric vehicles hit $4.5 billion this year.
Exxon Mobil Corp. retreated as it fell short of analysts’ expectations with a third straight drop in profit.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1022
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2857
* The Japanese yen fell 1.1% to 141.07 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $29,314.79
* Ether rose 0.8% to $1,873.88
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 3.95%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.49%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.33%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $80.47 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,998 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Rob Verdonck, Tassia Sipahutar, Sujata Rao and Isabelle Lee.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Caution is the eldest child of wisdom. –Victor Hugo, 1802-1885.

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