June 3, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to “walk” in space, during the flight of Gemini 4. Go to article »

A record geek’s eternal debate:
Was 1971 the year music peaked creatively? That’s the argument made by a new documentary on Apple TV+, appropriately titled “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything.”
Debates about which time periods were the most influential for music are certainly subjective — people have made similar claims for the ’60s, ’80s and ’90s. But 1971 has a strong case. A sampling: Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”; the Rolling Stones’s “Exile on Main St.”; Aretha Franklin’s “Aretha Live at Fillmore West”; John Lennon’s “Imagine”; Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”; and Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Going On.”
“There was something special going on in that moment with the end of the Beatles and the beginning of other artists, who then create what we can now see was the music of the future,” Asif Kapadia, the series’ director, said.
“These were times of social upheaval, not just great music. But they were emboldened by the music, by the empowerment of women and African Americans and gender-bending warriors,” Chris Vognar writes in a review of the show. “It was absolutely an exit point from the ’60s into a hectic new era, hard to define but rich in conflict and possibility.” –NY Times.

And by looking at the fossil record, researchers believe they’ve discovered a mass shark extinction that occurred 19 million years ago.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Horses gallop in Stokksnes, Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland by equine photographer Christiane Slawik for her book ‘Eine Welt voller Pferde’ (A world full of horses)
CREDIT:WWW.SLAWIK.COM/ MAGNUS NEWS

Red kites show they can fly just as close as the Red Arrows as they glide through the skies above the rolling hills of Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland
CREDIT: KENNETH O’KEEDE/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, Nasa’s new administrator, Bill Nelson, announced two new robotic missions to Venus, the solar system’s hottest planet, during his first major address to employees. He also supplied this image of Venus made with data from the Magellan spacecraft and Pioneer Venus Orbiter.
CREDIT: NASA/JPL-CALTECH VIA AP

Market Closes for June 3^rd, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1775, the national debt of the U.S. was born, as the Continental Congress authorized a loan of 6 million pounds sterling to buy gunpowder—showing they were prepared to borrow money more than a year before they were ready to declare independence.

The secret to happiness is having low expectations. -Warren Buffett, b. 1930.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell slightly as mining equities underperformed with falling metal prices. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.2% in Toronto, after rebounding from earlier loss of as much as 0.3%. Materials were the worst performers, led by miners, while financials were the best performing stocks. Meanwhile, Toronto’s housing market recorded its second consecutive month of slowing sales in May, as reduced supply and a lingering lockdown to contain the coronavirus helped to cool off the market.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $14.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.9% to $1,871.32 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell -0.6% to C$1.2104 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 1.519%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.1 percent, or 29.76 to 19,941.39 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.1 percent. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. had the largest drop, falling 7.1 percent. Today, 133 of 229 shares fell, while 94 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 6.6 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 0.4 percent
* The index advanced 28 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 36 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.5 percent below its 52-week high on June 2, 2021 and 33.5 percent above its low on June 15, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23 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$3.13t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.43 percent compared with 9.65 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.33 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -56.7147| -2.2| 3/49
* Information Technology | -16.0263| -0.8| 6/5
* Real Estate | -1.8177| -0.3| 10/16
* Consumer Staples | -1.5048| -0.2| 7/6
* Health Care | 0.5732| 0.2| 3/7
* Consumer Discretionary | 3.2036| 0.4| 5/8
* Energy | 3.4672| 0.1| 10/13
* Communication Services | 3.6079| 0.4| 6/1
* Utilities | 3.7800| 0.4| 11/5
* Industrials | 4.5352| 0.2| 14/15
* Financials | 27.1479| 0.4| 19/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -23.9000| -2.1| -28.7| 0.8
* Barrick Gold | -12.7700| -3.5| 8.2| -2.7
* Saputo | -4.5530| -6.5| 79.6| 10.3
* Brookfield Asset | | | |
* Management | 3.6180| 0.6| 9.0| 15.0
* Bank of Montreal | 5.1870| 0.9| -48.7| 32.8
* Intact Financial | 5.3740| 3.3| 81.4| 12.1

US
By Jennifer Bissell-Linsk
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities fell Thursday as investors digested a raft of economic data and President Joe Biden’s indication that he may be open to a lower corporate tax rate than 28%. The S&P 500 rose from session lows after Biden was said to have pitched a 15% minimum tax on U.S. corporations as a way to fund a bipartisan infrastructure package. However, the bounce wasn’t enough to erase earlier declines on concerns the Federal Reserve may withdraw its support sooner than expected. An ADP report showed payrolls at U.S. firms gained by the most in nearly a year, while additional figures on the economic health of the services sector rose to the highest on record. The dollar was stronger. Commodities, including gold and copper, were lower. And Treasuries fell. Meanwhile, the rally in so-called meme stocks including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. began to fade. With U.S. equities locked in a tight range for the past month, investors are on the lookout for any signs that the Fed might start to taper its asset purchases. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday the U.S. labor market might be tighter than suggested by the current unemployment rate. Up next, all eyes will be on Friday’s jobs report after separate data Thursday indicated strength was afoot.
U.S. jobless claims dipped below 400,000 for the first time during the pandemic last week. “With seemingly all systems go on the jobs front, the economy is flashing some very real signs that this isn’t just a comeback — expansion mode could be on the horizon,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial.  “So what does that translate to? Likely more pressure on the Fed to make a move — perhaps sooner than many thought from the outset.” The weakness in U.S. trading followed declines in Europe and Asia on the back of mounting geopolitical tensions.  Russia said it would eliminate the dollar from its National Wellbeing Fund to reduce exposure to U.S. assets. Meanwhile, the U.S. is set to amend an investment ban on companies linked to the Chinese military. “The summer of uncertainty is on full display,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note.  “10-year yields remain anchored and there is pressure on the USD, but leading indicators are strong, credit conditions are easy and market volatility remains low. That backdrop favors risk assets.”

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% at 4 p.m. New York time, the most since May 19 as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%, more than any closing loss since May 12
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, more than any closing loss since May 25
* The MSCI World index fell 0.5%, more than any closing loss since May 19
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.7%, more than any closing gain since May 12
* The euro slipped 0.7%, more than any closing loss since April 30
* The British pound slipped 0.5%, more than any closing loss since May 19
* The Japanese yen slipped 0.7%, more than any closing loss since May 12
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points, more than any closing gain since May 12
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to -0.18%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 0.84%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Gold futures fell 1.9%, the most since March 31
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Andreea Papuc and Richard Richtmyer.
Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.

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