July 7, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Tangents:
The seamstresses of Chanel, Dior and more formed a network to make face masks in quarantine. They’re not done working together. -The NY Times.

An Italian glacier is turning pink
Unfortunately, “watermelon snow” is not as fun as it sounds. -CNN

Meet the ‘tiny bug slayer,’ an ancient relative of giant dinosaurs
You’d think the ancestors of dinosaurs would sound a bit more formidable.-CNN.

How does Earth sustain its magnetic field? -Bloomberg.

Who’s hungry for some 3D-printed steak? (h/t Mike Smedley)-Bloomberg.

1860 – Gustav Mahler, composer, b.
1887 – Marc Chagall, artist, b.
1907 – Robert A. Heinlein, writer, b.
1940 – Ringo Starr, musician, b.
1954 – Elvis Presley made his radio debut when Memphis, Tenn., station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, “That’s All Right.” Go to article >>
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An amateur photographer waited five hours to snap these amazing pictures of an osprey rising from the water clutching its next meal. Alan Wemyss, 55, captured the dramatic snaps while on an early morning shoot at a bird hide in Aviemore, Scottish Highlands. Alan, a joiner, from Inverness, Scottish Highlands, was at the lookout spot at Aviemore Ospreys from 4am until 9am, patiently waiting to photograph the bird. The osprey’s massive wingspan and piercing yellow eyes can be seen as it carries off the catch.
CREDIT: ALAN WEMYSS/SWNS.COM

Full “Buck” Moon rising over Roker Lighthouse in Sunderland, UK.
CREDIT: SIMON WOODLEY/SWNS

A woman walks past a printing by Chinese artist Fang Lijun titled “2002,1.1” during a Sotheby’s auction exhibition in Hong Kong.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/VINCENT YU
Market Closes for July 7th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1993, Charles W. Knapp was found guilty on three counts of conspiracy after his savings & loan empire collapsed, costing the U.S. taxpayer $2 billion. Knapp’s American Savings & Loan Association was once the nation’s largest thrift, but it was seized by federal regulators in 1984 and later settled a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission lawsuit charging it with fraudulent overstating of earnings
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Tuesday alongside global stock markets amid jitters about the pace of economic
recovery from the pandemic.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.5%, with nine of eleven sectors lower. Materials and information technology gained.
Spot gold advanced to a more than eight-year high, recovering from earlier losses as the dollar pared gains and simmering economic concerns boosted demand for the metal as a haven.
Meanwhile, this week’s escalation of American pipeline setbacks is heightening concerns among Canadian oil producers, which export almost all of their crude to the U.S.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $7.30 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,796.09 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.5% to C$1.3609 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3.6 basis points to 0.506%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5 percent at 15,595.50 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.7 percent on June 26 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.6 percent. Enerplus Corp. had the  largest drop, falling 7.0 percent.
Today, 160 of 221 shares fell, while 61 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index declined 5.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 39.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.6 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 24.5 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 of C$2.38t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 19.65 percent compared with 19.60 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.13 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -81.6067| -1.8| 1/24
Energy | -26.9123| -1.4| 2/22
Consumer Discretionary | -10.0719| -1.9| 0/13
Industrials | -7.4218| -0.4| 6/22
Utilities | -6.2750| -0.8| 4/12
Communication Services | -6.0034| -0.7| 1/7
Real Estate | -4.1369| -0.8| 6/21
Health Care | -2.8963| -1.7| 1/8
Consumer Staples | -2.0892| -0.3| 2/9
Information Technology | 27.3269| 1.7| 2/8
Materials | 45.9134| 2.0| 36/14
US
By Amena Saad and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slumped, with airlines and hotels particularly hard hit, amid signs that the world economy has a long way to go to get back on track.
Almost six shares fell on the S&P 500 Index for every one that gained. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gauges dropped from a record intraday high in the afternoon as heavyweights such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. turned lower. European shares slipped on concern the economy will take longer to recover. Gold climbed to the highest since 2011. The dollar strengthened and Treasury yields dipped. Brazil’s currency and stocks slumped as President Jair Bolsonaro said he had tested positive for Covid-19.
Stock investors took a breather after a ferocious rally that fueled the S&P 500’s best winning streak this year. While data show the global economy may be past the worst of the slump, it’s a long road back to pre-crisis levels. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the renewed spread of coronavirus may threaten the pace of the recovery as businesses and consumers put plans on hold.
After “a five-day rally where the market’s up quite a bit, it’s not so surprising to have a little bit of a pause,” said Jeff Mills, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. “It’s just sort of the natural movements of the market. You can’t go up in a straight line every single day.”
The European Commission gave its starkest warning yet about the impact of the pandemic. Officials now forecast a contraction of 8.7% in the euro area this year, a full percentage point deeper than previously predicted. Novavax Inc. surged after it was awarded $1.6 billion in U.S. funding to support large-scale manufacturing of its vaccine candidate.
Elsewhere, most Asian shares dropped, even as Chinese stocks powered ahead for a sixth day, although at a slower pace.
The offshore yuan briefly strengthened through the 7 per dollar level for the first time since March.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The EIA crude oil inventory report comes Wednesday.
* All eyes will be on the U.S. weekly jobless claims report on Thursday.
* Singapore holds its general election on Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.7%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 0.9%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.4%.
* The euro decreased 0.3% to $1.1274.
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2543.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 107.55 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped four basis points to 0.64%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.43%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield sank two basis points to 0.18%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate oil fell 0.8% to $40.32 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.7% to $1,796.73 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen and Yakob Peterseil.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

One truth stands firm.  All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual.
If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history.  If it is weak, it suffers world history.
                                                                         -Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1965

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