July 8, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

2004 Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company’s collapse. (He was convicted, but died while the case was on appeal.)  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chris Bailey, car presentation leader at Bonhams, cleans a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 convertible on display in the Bonhams Saleroom at the Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex, which was previously owned by Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and actor Peter Sellers, and is estimated to fetch £1.3-1.5 million in the Bonhams Festival of Speed Sale on Friday
CREDIT: ANDREW MATTHEWS/PA WIRE

A worker mends a sea of fishing nets. Dressed in traditional workwear and a straw hat, the woman sits amongst waves of the nylon traps repairing them in preparation for the next trip in the city of Phan Rang in Vietnam. Around 20 people work for the family business which use different coloured nets with a range of sizes to catch a variety of fish. Teo Chin Leong, the 43 year old airport worker who took the photos, said: “The scene was quite messy. But by focusing onto a particular patch of nets with one particular worker, it becomes a beautiful shot.” 
CREDIT: TEO CHIN LEONG/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

England football fans celebrate in the streets surrounding Piccadilly and Leicester Square after England beat Denmark in their semi final game in London, United Kingdom. England has reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Football Championship 2020 hoping to make the final for the first time in the history of the competition. 
CREDIT: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/GETTY IMAGES

Volunteers free a Kestrel after being found in difficult conditions in the months of May and June, as immature, in the Capodimonte Park in Naples, Italy
CREDIT: CESARE ABBATE/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Market Closes for July 8^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1839, John Davison Rockefeller, one of the first oil industry giants, was born in Richford, N.Y., to William Avery Rockefeller and his wife, Eliza Davison.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell with the broader equity markets selloff, led by technology sector. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 1.1% in Toronto, most since Feb. 25. Tech and materials were the worst performers, while consumer staples stocks were the best. Meanwhile, thousands of rail cars loaded with grain are idled in the Vancouver corridor after Western Canadian wildfires damaged two main lines,  while repairs enable a small but rising number to reach the country’s biggest port.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $12.95 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat around $1,802 an ounce
FX/ Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar fell about 0.4% to C$1.2536 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield dropped about 4 basis points to 1.262%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.1 percent, or 229.39 to 20,061.21 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.4 percent on Feb. 25. Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 160 of 231 shares fell, while 70 rose. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.2 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 5.7 percent.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 13 times. The next day, it advanced nine times for an average 0.9 percent and declined four times for an average 0.8 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended April 23
* The index advanced 28 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 37 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.6 percent below its 52-week high on July 7, 2021 and 30.3 percent above its low on July 9, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.1 on a trailing basis and 16.7 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$3.19t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.36 percent compared with 6.38 percent in the previous session and the average of 7.90 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -88.4393| -1.4| 2/26
* Information Technology | -52.5860| -2.3| 4/8
* Materials | -37.1490| -1.6| 11/41
* Industrials | -35.7928| -1.5| 8/22
* Energy | -15.0748| -0.6| 4/19
* Consumer Discretionary | -7.7004| -1.0| 2/11
* Health Care | -0.4683| -0.2| 5/5
* Communication Services | -0.2503| 0.0| 4/3
* Real Estate | 0.0741| 0.0| 11/15
* Utilities | 0.1516| 0.0| 9/7
* Consumer Staples | 7.8621| 1.1| 10/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -47.5900| -3.2| 1.3| 27.9
* Canadian Pacific | -25.5900| -5.7| 178.6| 3.4
* Bank of Nova Scotia| -9.1980| -1.4| -50.7| 13.3
* Loblaw | 1.3130| 1.6| 37.2| 24.8
* Fortis | 1.6650| 0.9| 34.9| 7.5
* Couche-Tard | 4.0160| 1.6| 9.1| 5.3

US
By Claire Ballentine and Natalia Kniazhevich
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped the most in almost three week amid growing anxiety that the spread of Covid-19 variants will upend growth expectations, undoing popular reflation trades.  Treasuries gained for an eighth day. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, with the economically-sensitive industrial and material sectors helping to lead all 11 industry groups lower.  The benchmark index had set all-time closing highs in eight of the last nine trading sessions.  Banks were the biggest losers with the U.S. 30-year Treasury yields fell briefly below 1.90% for the first time since February. Traders are getting edgy over whether the rapid spread of the delta strain will knock back growth and prospects for central bank normalization. “It feels like we have moved from thinking inflation will be transitory, to fearing growth will be transitory,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. Central bank stimulus plans remain critical to the market outlook.  While the Federal Reserve mulls the timetable for tapering $120 billion in monthly bond purchases, the European Central Bank stands ready to extend ultra-loose policy.
In the culmination of an 18-month review published Thursday, ECB policy makers raised their inflation target to 2% and said they would tolerate moderate overshoots. “The minutes of the Fed yesterday pointed to a slowing of the bond purchase, though the lower interest rate on the 10-year, which indicated higher demand,” said Kim Forrest, founder and chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. It “looks like the bond people are ignoring the Fed’s future moves.” Oil rebounded after a U.S. government report showed rapidly declining inventories and record-high fuel demand in the midst of the peak summer travel season.

Meanwhile, the pandemic’s global death toll has surpassed 4 million as the delta variant spreads, and the World Health Organization urged caution on reopenings worldwide.
Here are some events to watch this week:
* The Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Venice on Friday
* China PPI and CPI data released on Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1847
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3785
* The Japanese yen rose 0.8% to 109.78 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.61%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $73.13 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Frugality is a handsome income. -Erasmus, 1459-1536.

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