June 16, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
June 16, 2020~ First major breakthrough in treating COVID-19 using steroid dexamethasone announced by Oxford University.

On June 16, 1933, President Roosevelt opened his New Deal recovery program, signing bank, rail, and industry bills and initiating farm aid.  Go to article »

Strange blinking star near heart of Milky Way catches scientists’ eyes.

The difference between a digital dollar and a CBDC. 

Can a $110 million helmet unlock the secrets of the mind? Bloomberg Businessweek reports on how Bryan Johnson, who made a fortune in online payment processing, has spent a lot of that money building hardware meant to radically expand science’s understanding of the brain’s aging and effects on the body.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wildlife photographer David Weiller snapped these stunning close-up images of the colourful Puss moth Caterpillar (Cerura Vinulais) near his home in his native France. This cartoon-like caterpillar will usually camouflage itself effectively among the leaves which it feeds on, but if disturbed, it has an extraordinary defensive strategy where it will wave around the two long red whip-like appendages from its tail. If further deterrent is still needed, the caterpillar can squirt acid from its thorax in order to deter potential predators.  
CREDIT: DAVID WEILLER/WENN

Sarah Blencowe from Brighton shows off a fine fascinator at Royal Ascot
CREDIT: GEOFF PUGH FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Hoglets snuggle up to Yasha the cat in the house of its owner Ksenia Krasilnikova in the village of Okhotnikovo, Crimea. Krasilnikova has found seven abandoned baby hedgehogs in her yard and feeds them, while her male cats Yasha and Murchik comfort the hoglets and keep them warm.
CREDIT: ALEXEY PAVLISHAK/REUTERS

Market Closes for June 16^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1812, the state of New York chartered a new institution called City Bank of New York, capitalized at $2 million, with $800,000 already raised. Today it is a global behemoth called Citigroup.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf and Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed little changed on the day after initially rising when U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled two rate hikes by the end of 2023. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was flat, with eight of eleven sectors declining. Tech and financials were among gainers.  Gold fell to a four-week low after the Fed outlook revision. Meanwhile, inflation in Canada accelerated to its highest level in a decade, in what policy makers are saying will only be a temporary run-up in prices.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $13.65 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat around $1,859.28 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.7% to C$1.2267 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 5.7 basis points to 1.439%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 20,230.96 in Toronto, ending a 4-day gain.  The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4 percent. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.3 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 7.4 percent. Today, 144 of 229 shares fell, while 80 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 8.2 percent
* The index advanced 30 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 37 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on June 16, 2021 and 33.6 percent above its low on June 24, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.2 on a trailing basis and 17 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$3.18t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.38 percent compared with  8.48 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.32 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -20.8289| -0.8| 11/38
* Industrials | -19.6785| -0.8| 9/21
* Energy | -12.2794| -0.5| 10/13
* Consumer Discretionary | -9.0921| -1.1| 4/9
* Consumer Staples | -6.0074| -0.8| 3/10
* Communication Services | -2.7937| -0.3| 1/7
* Utilities | -1.9939| -0.2| 4/12
* Health Care | -1.7884| -0.7| 3/7
* Real Estate | 0.8777| 0.1| 14/11
* Financials | 35.2727| 0.6| 18/8
* Information Technology | 37.9622| 1.9| 3/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Canadian National | -8.8320| -1.3| 36.2| -5.5
* Canadian Natural | | | |
* Resources | -6.5290| -1.7| 103.3| 48.4
* Magna International | -6.0110| -2.7| 10.3| 26.7
* Bank of Nova Scotia | 6.0860| 0.9| -21.2| 19.1
* Bank of Montreal | 8.1190| 1.4| 23.6| 33.6
* Shopify | 45.7100| 3.6| 47.5| 16.2
================================================================
Biggest | |Index Points | Volume VS |YTD Change
Gainers | % Change | Move |20D AVG (%)| (%)
================================================================
* Denison Mines | 5.9| 0.4450| 20.7| 114.3
* Cascades | 3.9| 0.3140| 23.2| 2.0
* Shopify | 3.6| 45.7100| 47.5| 16.2

US
By Katie Greifeld and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — Bond yields jumped and stocks fell for a second day after Federal Reserve officials signaled they’ll begin dialing back the stimulus that has fueled the recovery from the pandemic. Stocks closed off the lows of the day after Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the risk of an immediate rate increase. The S&P 500 index had initially tumbled when policymakers disclosed that they expect two interest rate increases by the end of 2023. The dollar strengthened versus major peers. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose from an almost three-month low, while five-and seven-year notes  fell more as the market repriced the timing of rate increases. Crude oil edged lower after earlier rising as much as 1.2% in New York as the strengthening dollar reduced the appeal of commodities priced in the currency. “First blush is obviously a hawkish read,” said Michael Contopoulos, Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s director of fixed income and portfolio manager. “This supports the reflation, higher rates theme and likely adds more fuel to the taper talk fire for Jackson Hole or September FOMC at the latest.”
The central bank held the target range for its benchmark policy rate unchanged at zero to 0.25% — where it’s been since March 2020 — and pledged to continue asset purchases at a $120 billion monthly pace until “substantial further progress” had been made on employment and inflation. The quarterly projections showed 13 of 18 officials favored at least one rate increase by the end of 2023, versus seven in March. Eleven officials saw at least two hikes by the end of that year. In addition, seven of them saw a move as early as 2022, up from four. “The number of people who moved forward into 2023 is somewhat surprising,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. In a press conference after the rate decision announcement, Powell appeared to throw some cold water on the market’s initial reaction to the dot plot revision — by going to some lengths to explain that the central bank isn’t really thinking about rate increases right now. “The Fed didn’t rock the boat,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. “They increased their inflation outlook and upped GDP forecasts, everyone expected that. Yes, the first hike will now be in 2023, but again, this shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.”

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House panel Thursday on the federal budget
* Rate decisions come from Switzerland and Norway on Thursday
* The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision is on Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, more than any closing loss since May 18 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% to the lowest since June 10
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, more than any closing loss since May 18
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6% at 4:02 p.m. New York time, the most since June 3
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.8%, more than any closing gain in about a year
* The euro slipped 1%, more than any closing loss in about 15 months
* The British pound slipped 0.6%, more than any closing loss since May 12
* The Japanese yen slipped 0.5%, more than any closing loss since June 3
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced eight basis points, more than any closing gain since March 12
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.25%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.74%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $71.84 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1.4%, falling for the fourth straight day, the longest losing streak since April 30
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

To be prepared is half the victory. -Miguel De Cervantes, 1547-1616.

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