June 25, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

A couple of years ago, when it was first published, I read the book by the  Navy Seal David Goggin entitled You Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.  I was in awe of the seemingly inhuman training regimen that the Navy Seals undertake and the discipline and endurance that it bestows on those  rare and superhuman individuals who are able to complete the training.  I highly recommend the book.   I was reminded of it this week when Gary sent me the following link of a convocation address given by Navy Seal and retired four star Admiral William H. McRaven.  This is a really compelling speech and I highly recommend that you watch this:
https://youtu.be/yaQZFhrW0fU

June 25^th, 1950:  War broke out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invaded the South.  Go to article »
1962~Supreme Court bans school prayer.
1990~Supreme Court upholds the right to die.
1903~ George Orwell, writer, b.
1945~Carly Simon, singer & songwriter, b.

A coronavirus epidemic hit 20,000 year ago, new study finds. 
Area sea lion crashes interview about plague of sea lions.
The ground is always moving beneath you. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

There’s a Trick to Making the Summer’s Perfect Tomato Sandwich

The Late Night Hosts weigh in on Giuliani:
“This is a dramatic fall from grace. In the city he was famously the mayor of, Rudy Giuliani can no longer practice law. And if the last year has proven anything, it’s that when it comes to law, Rudy needs a lot of practice.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“You know you’ve crossed the line when other lawyers are, like, ‘This guy lies way too much.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“How is he gonna eat? And, more likely, drink? Well, if he needs cash, he could always sell the fracking rights to his skull.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“I mean, I’m just shocked to find out Rudy had a law license. I bet Rudy is, too: [imitating Giuliani] ‘I thought that was my Quiznos card — I’m one hole punch away from a free sub!’” — SETH MEYERS

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The full moon is seen rising over the Temple of Poseidon at cape Sounion, some 70 km southeast of Athens, Greece
CREDIT: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY / EYEVINE

A 15,000-pound elephant marches through the Savanna.These images were taken by photographer Ramachandiran Govindaraj (34) from Coimbatore, India, who captured the images in the Masai Mara, Kenya. 
CREDIT: RAMACHANDIRAN GOVINDARAJMEDIADRUM

The Flying Scotsman steam train travels across the Forth Bridge, as it makes a journey through Fife
CREDIT: JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES

George meet George : D-Day and Russian Convoys World War II Veteran George Winter, 95yrs, meeting George the Giant Tortoise, 85yrs, at Cotswold Wildlife Park
CREDIT: PAUL NICHOLL
Market Closes for June 25^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1974, Texas Instruments and three of its key engineers, Jack S. Kilby, Jerry D. Merryman, and James H. VanTassel, received U.S. Patent No. 3,819,921 for their hand-held aluminum calculator. The gizmo was 1 3/4” thick and weighed 2 lbs., 13 oz.  It could add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and sold for between $84.95 and $119.95.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities posted a weekly gain after strong performance from energy firms including PrairieSky Royalty, while luxury jacket maker Canada Goose Holdings also rallied. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1% Friday, with mixed performance. Financials gained while health care and tech retreated. BlackBerry fell after analyst downgrades, but Chief Executive Officer John Chen urged patience and said he’s boosting the sales force to improve growth. Oil posted its fifth straight weekly gain, the longest winning streak since December, as demand recovers and supplies continue tighten in the U.S. and China. Canada’s parliament broke for summer this week, with conditions ripe for Justin Trudeau to trigger an election in a bid to win back complete command of the legislature.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $13.85 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,779.60 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.2299 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 3.5 basis points to 1.453%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 20,230.26 in Toronto. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.6 percent. ARC Resources Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 5.0 percent. Today, 93 of 231 shares rose, while 131 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 8.2 percent
* This month, the index rose 2.5 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 1.2 percent
* The index advanced 31 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 41 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on June 16, 2021 and 33.4 percent above its low on June 26, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.3 on a trailing basis and 16.9 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 7.13 percent compared with 7.78 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.93 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 30.2666| 0.5| 19/9
* Industrials | 5.1590| 0.2| 16/14
* Communication Services | 0.7082| 0.1| 4/2
* Energy | 0.6492| 0.0| 9/13
* Utilities | 0.6489| 0.1| 6/10
* Consumer Staples | -0.5240| -0.1| 6/7
* Consumer Discretionary | -1.0329| -0.1| 5/7
* Health Care | -1.2659| -0.4| 2/7
* Real Estate | -1.8326| -0.3| 5/19
* Information Technology | -8.6984| -0.4| 6/6
* Materials | -8.9275| -0.4| 15/37
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* TD Bank | 6.7100| 0.6| -26.2| 21.9
* Manulife Financial | 5.9420| 1.8| -29.2| 8.7
* Bank of Nova Scotia| 5.4850| 0.8| -6.0| 17.6
* Blackberry | -2.5690| -4.5| -48.6| 77.0
* Suncor Energy | -3.7700| -1.2| -34.0| 42.0
* Shopify | -8.1800| -0.6| -15.5| 26.1

US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — In a week that saw a plunge in stock volatility, investors scooped up companies mostly tied to a recovery of the world’s largest economy.  On the other side of the spectrum, bond traders sent Treasuries slumping. It may be too early to say that the reflation trade is coming back in full force, but at least the anxiety regarding the Federal Reserve’s hawkish shift has eased.  At least for now,  there’s a perception that officials won’t rush to boost interest rates despite mounting inflation pressures. Equities notched their best week since February, with financial and industrial shares beating the tech giants that powered the stay-at-home strategy.  The Cboe Volatility Index, or the VIX, tumbled to pre-pandemic levels. Aside from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure deal and reassurances from some prominent voices such as Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a batch of economic readings came out this week.  Data Friday showed personal spending stagnated in May, while a closely watched inflation measure continued to climb.
Meantime, U.S. consumer sentiment rose in June by less than forecast and longer-term inflation expectations moderated from a month earlier. “Equities have rallied because the Fed is successfully walking the tightrope,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab. “That’s a very tricky tightrope to walk — watching and taking action enough to keep inflation under control, but at the same time not acting too aggressively or too quickly that you squash economic growth.” Among the corporate highlights, some of the biggest banks rose on speculation of a potential deluge of dividends and buybacks after the Fed’s stress tests.  Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. soared after getting regulatory approval to fly customers into space. Nike Inc. jumped on an upbeat forecast, while FedEx Corp. sank amid a disappointing outlook.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1941
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3890
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 110.76 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 1.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.16%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 0.78%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $73.98 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,779.50 an ounce
–With assistance from Sunil Jagtiani, Namitha Jagadeesh, Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Concentration is everything.  On the day I’m performing, I don’t hear anything anyone says to me. -Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007.

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