June 7, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday.

June 7, 1975: The first Cricket World Cup begins.  England hosted the first edition of the event, which The West Indies won.
June 7, 2000: A federal judge ordered the breakup of Microsoft Corp.  Go to article >>

June 7, 1975: VCR introduced.
Paul Gauguin, painter, b. 1848.
Liam Neeson, actor, b. 1952.
Prince, singer, b. 1958.

Humans didn’t domesticate horses until 4,200 years ago — a millennium later than thought
Ancient DNA of nearly 500 horses reveals that humans didn’t domesticate them until 2200 B.C., 1,000 years later than we previously thought. Read More.

Rare-earth elements could be hidden inside coal mines
Rare earth elements are necessary for modern technology, including green energy, but they only come from a few sources around the globe. New research has discovered them hiding in coal mines in the U.S. Read More.

We aren’t evolving fast enough to keep up with changes in culture
Social media, city life and even our sweet tooth can affect stress levels, health and even how many children we have. Read More.

What is the 3-body problem, and is it really unsolvable?
The three-body problem is a physics conundrum that has boggled scientists since Isaac Newton’s day. But what is it, why is it so hard to solve and is the sci-fi series of the same name really possible? Read More.

Razor-thin silk ‘dampens noise by 75%’ — could be game-changer for sound-proofing homes and offices
Researchers have engineered a silk fabric that can suppress noise by either generating sound waves that interfere with the noise or by blocking vibrations that are key to the transmission of sound. Read More.

Pat Sajak will host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for the final time today
It’s Pat’s final spin. Sajak will host his last episode of “Wheel” today after more than 40 years and 8,000 episodes on the game show.

SpaceX launches mega Starship on its fourth test flight
Elon Musk’s SpaceX completed an unmanned test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built. Read about the milestones achieved during the latest flight.

USA scores major win against Pakistan at Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup
The victory was the biggest in USA Cricket history — and possibly one of the most shocking upsets in the sport of cricket.

‘House of the Dragon’ braces for war in its fiery second season
The “Game of Thrones” prequel will soon begin its second season on HBO, which, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Read more about the storyline here.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Paris, France
With 50 days to go until the start of the Paris Olympics Games organisers unveil the five rings, which have been mounted on the Eiffel Tower Photograph: Thomas Padilla/AP

A seagull flies above a rooftop in Rome, Italy
Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​A roebuck enjoys a feast of poppy petals in Brandenburg, Germany
Photograph: Patrick Pleul/DPA/Cover Images
Market Closes for June 7^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson finalized his ruling that Microsoft was a monopoly, and ordered it be split in two. The breakup order was reversed on appeal the following year.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1% at 22,007.00 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.6% on May 29 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4%.
Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 178 of 222 shares fell, while 43 rose.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 6.6%.
Iamgold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.5%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 16 times. The next day, it declined eight times for an average 0.4% and advanced eight times for an average 0.6%
* This quarter, the index fell 0.7%
* So far this week, the index fell 1.2%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended April 12
* The index advanced 10% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.4% below its 52-week high on May 21, 2024 and 17.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 0 on a trailing basis and 15.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.53t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.20% compared with 10.80% in the previous session and the average of 9.70% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -115.5393| -4.2| 2/48
Energy | -41.6974| -1.0| 4/36
Industrials | -28.3459| -0.9| 7/19
Financials | -23.6435| -0.3| 9/18
Utilities | -8.7179| -1.0| 5/10
Real Estate | -7.3473| -1.6| 1/19
Consumer Discretionary| -5.5543| -0.7| 4/9
Communication Services| -2.1866| -0.3| 0/5
Health Care | -0.1666| -0.3| 1/3
Consumer Staples | 2.6275| 0.3| 6/5
Information Technology| 8.4633| 0.5| 4/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Agnico Eagle Mines | -21.4800| -6.6| 38.3| 20.8
Barrick Gold | -17.8300| -6.1| 29.7| -7.1
Canadian Natural Resources | -12.6300| -1.7| 71.2| 11.4
Saputo | 3.2570| 6.8| 382.2| 11.2
Constellation Software | 4.6790| 0.9| -18.1| 16.9
Shopify | 6.1770| 0.9| -27.3| -17.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest bond market got hammered as a solid US jobs report made traders dial back their bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.
A selloff in Treasuries drove yields up over 10 basis points, with swaps no longer pricing in a Fed reduction before December.
Nonfarm payrolls advanced 272,000 — beating estimates — and wages accelerated.
The unemployment rate increased to 4%.
Equities closed well off session lows as the data helped quell fears about an economic slowdown that could hurt Corporate America.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, the jobs report is sort of a mixed bag.
On the one hand, it calms worries the US is hurling toward some sort of economic cliff.
On the other hand, it pushes back bets on Fed easing.
“Today’s jobs report may lower rate-cut expectations,” Kenwell said. “But at the end of the day, a strong labor market is hardly a bad thing — especially for an economy that’s so dependent on consumer spending.”
The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, with banks up and most tech mega-caps down.
GameStop Corp. plunged after Keith Gill’s appearance on the “Roaring Kitty” stream on YouTube — as well as the video-game retailer’s unexpected earnings report and plans to sell up to 75 million additional shares.
Treasury 10-year yields jumped 14 basis points to 4.43%.
The dollar climbed the most since January. Gold, silver and copper tumbled.
Oil also fell.
Bitcoin sank below $70,000.
“We still expect the Fed to cut rates in September, but another set of prints like today’s would likely also take that off the table,” said Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management.
“The positive news, however, is that with a labor market this strong, the US economy is nowhere near recession territory.”
Swap traders had escalated rate-cut bets earlier in the week, emboldened by a slew of softer-than-forecast US economic data, the Bank of Canada’s decision to ease monetary policy, and bets the European Central Bank would be the next to cut — a move that was confirmed by the ECB on Thursday.
The latest jobs figures highlight a labor market that continues to defy expectations and blunt the impact on the economy from high interest rates and prices.
That strength risks keeping inflationary pressures stubborn, which will likely reinforce the Fed’s cautious stance.
To Jeff Schulze at ClearBridge Investments, Friday’s jobs report likely takes a September rate cut off the table.
“The Fed can have patience and remain data-dependent over the next quarter to ensure that inflation is moving sustainably back to target,” he noted.
Economists at Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., among the few who were still predicting a Fed cut in July, changed their calls after the jobs report.
Citi’s Andrew Hollenhorst now sees cuts in September, November and December.
JPMorgan’s Michael Feroli predicts a Fed reduction in November.
This is one of the last major reports Fed officials will see before Wednesday’s rate decision, when they’re forecast to keep borrowing costs at a two-decade high.
A key inflation print — the Consumer Price Index — is due on the same day.
While the strong US payrolls data underscore no urgency for the Fed to cut, it’s inflation — not jobs — that will decide that, according to Krishna Guha at Evercore.
“Next week’s CPI could help clarify whether the US is enjoying a ‘Goldilocks’ moment of decelerating inflation combined with resilient employment or whether inflationary pressures are persisting,” said Ronald Temple at Lazard.
The June Fed meeting will be one of the most-pivotal this year as Chair Jerome Powell may provide the clearest hint yet to the rate-cut timetable, according to Anna Wong at Bloomberg Economics.
With the Fed widely expected to stay on hold, the focus of the meeting will be the new Summary of Economic Projections.
Back in March, Fed officials maintained their outlook for three rate cuts in 2024.
“The new ‘dot plot’ likely will indicate two 25-basis-point cuts this year,” Wong said.

Corporate Highlights:
* Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has shelved plans for a potential initial public offering of its UK drugstore chain Boots, people with knowledge of the matter said, dashing hopes for a blockbuster listing to revive the fortunes of the London stock market.
* Health-care payments software maker Waystar Holding Corp. shares declined as much as 4.7% after its initial public offering raised $968 million, the largest by a US-based company this year.
* KKR & Co. put $50 million of fresh capital into one of its major property trusts and agreed to a plan to support its valuation as the money manager looks to weather the ongoing turmoil in commercial real estate.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.8%
* The euro fell 0.8% to $1.0800
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.2721
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 156.75 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.1% to $69,185.63
* Ether fell 3.1% to $3,679.9
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 14 basis points to 4.43%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.62%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 4.26%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $75.30 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 3.7% to $2,288.74 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Divya Patil, Sujata Rao and Elizabeth Stanton.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. –Anaïs Nin, 1903-1977.

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