June 9, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Cole Porter, composer, b. 1891
Hong Kong lease signed from Britain, 1898.
Donald Duck cartoon, b. 1934

Learn to read Middle English. -Bloomberg.

Here’s what you need to know before booking a vacation in a pandemic. — Alexis Leondis, Bloomberg.

Watch a mama blue orchard bee build an incredibly detailed nest — with a little something extra for her babies when they hatch. (Click here to view) -CNN.

June 9, 1534 – Jacques Cartier sails into the river he names the St. Lawrence, on the Saint’s feast day. Go to article »

A boat believed to be a Navy vessel that John F. Kennedy had commanded has been mired in the muck off Manhattan for decades.
What may be the remnants of the PT-59 patrol boat, which was sold as surplus after World War II, are being salvaged in connection with the construction of a sea wall.
Kennedy’s service on the PT-59 was overshadowed by the PT-109, which was hit by a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific. His rescue of the surviving crew helped make him a war hero. Above, the PT-59 during its World War II service in the Solomon Islands.
As for how the boat may have ended up at the bottom of the Harlem River, as one spectator said, “you can’t make this stuff up.” –The New York Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Two women stand in shallow water collecting bright pink flowers of the waterlily plant. They spread the long plants out in a circle around themselves and let them float on the surface of the water as they harvest them, in An Giang province, Vietnam.
CREDIT: KHANH PHAN/SOLENT NEWS& PHOTO AGENCY

Two Lemur cattas, also known as ring-tailed lemur, born during France’s three month shutdown, ride on their mother’s back at Paris Zoological Park in the Bois de Vincennes which re-opens with new health measures following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID -19) in France
CREDIT: REUTERS/CHARLES PLATIAU

Hospital clowns gather to stroll to the Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels, Belgium. The performance was held to support and maintain the link with all those with whom they interact throughout the year such as carers, medical, maintenance and administrative staff, parents, and children.
CREDIT: STEPHANIE LECOCQ/EPA -EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Market Closes for June 9th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1943, paychecks everywhere went on a sudden diet, as Federal income tax withholding was implemented for the first time. Originally proposed by Beardsley Ruml, an executive at Macy’s who had encouraged shoppers to buy on the installment plan, withholding was cleverly called “pay as you go” and was coupled with an amnesty for the previous year’s taxes. The public backed it eagerly, forever after giving the Federal government interest-free financing.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities snapped a two-session winning streak Tuesday alongside U.S. shares on concern that the blistering rally in risk assets overshot economic prospects.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.9%, the most since May 13. Nine of 11 sectors fell, while tech and materials gained. Canada’s energy index lost 2.9% Tuesday. Prior to Tuesday, oil & gas shares saw ferocious gains in firms such as ShawCor Ltd., which rose 185% in three sessions. Oil driller Baytex Energy Corp. rose about 50% during the same period.
Rotation to value, retail buying, and “fear of missing out” (FOMO) were among factors contributing to energy’s rally, according to Wells Fargo analyst Michael Blum. The bank refrained from calling it a full-on rotation, however.
“Our equity strategist, Chris Harvey, sees a reluctant rotation to value occurring (which would include energy) as incremental economic data points to a continued recovery off the bottom,” Blum added in a note to clients.
Meanwhile, gold rose for a second straight day as equities tumbled and the World Bank projected a dire outlook for the global economy this year. Canada’s central bank is considering buying as much as C$100 million in corporate bond tender, according to its website. Debt issued by Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust and Saputo Inc. are among bonds considered in Tuesday’s reverse auction, according to people familiar with the list.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $8.80 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1% to $1,715.80 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.3399 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 4.3 basis points to 0.633%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.9 percent at 15,833.74 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 2.5 percent on May 13 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.8 percent.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.3 percent. ShawCor Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 16.8 percent.
Today, 168 of 229 shares fell, while 58 rose; 9 of 11sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 18 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* The index declined 2.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 10 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 41.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.8 on a trailing basis and 26.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.42t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 20.07 percent compared with 19.91 percent in the previous session and the average of 25.08 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -64.2713| -2.9| 2/28
Financials | -50.9284| -1.1| 3/23
Communication Services | -17.1051| -1.9| 2/6
Real Estate | -12.8514| -2.5| 3/23
Utilities | -11.9978| -1.5| 3/13
Consumer Discretionary | -5.7035| -1.0| 2/12
Industrials | -4.4867| -0.2| 11/20
Health Care | -4.2458| -2.5| 1/8
Consumer Staples | -0.9922| -0.2| 4/7
Information Technology | 9.8935| 0.7| 4/6
Materials | 21.5189| 1.0| 23/22
US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped on concern the blistering rally in risk assets overshot economic prospects. Treasuries climbed.
The S&P 500 halted a surge that drove the gauge higher for 2020, led by energy and industrial companies. Small-cap shares underperformed after a 10% advance in six June sessions. The Nasdaq 100 briefly topped 10,000 as Apple Inc. jumped on a news report it’s preparing to announce a shift to its own main processors in Mac computers. Treasury yields sank to as low as 0.8%. The dollar fell for a ninth straight day — its longest slide since 2006.
After a record-breaking rally that added $21 trillion to global stock markets, technical indicators suggest a pullback is overdue. Sentiment toward U.S. equities swung to extreme confidence from equally extreme fear in less than three months.
Nearly 300 stocks in the S&P 500 are trading at prices that exceed their consensus 12-month targets set by individual company analysts, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s a swift change from late March, when only two stocks boasted prices higher than analysts forecast. “When you have an overbought market, it will not take much to have the market consolidate,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc. “Whether it is a sideways market or a 5% to 10% pullback, there will be something that ensures we will see a pullback.”
While the easing lockdowns around the globe fueled a stock rally from the lows, the World Bank warned the economy will contract the most since World War II this year. U.S. job openings plummeted in April to the lowest since 2014 and separations remained elevated as the pandemic ripped through the labor market with devastating speed.
What to watch this week:
* The Fed’s next policy decision is Wednesday. Officials are expected to leave rates above zero.
* OECD releases its economic outlook Wednesday, a twice-yearly analysis of the economic prospects of member countries
* Euro-area finance ministers meet Thursday to discuss the EU’s recovery package and Eurogroup presidency succession.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 dipped 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.1%.
* The euro climbed 0.4% to $1.1334.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.6% to 107.76 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased five basis points to 0.82%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.31%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to 0.336%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.1%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.6% to $38.80 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 0.9% to $1,720 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Andreea Papuc, David
Wilson, Todd White, Lynn Thomasson, Sarah Ponczek and Elena Popina.
Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. 
Wishing is not enough; we must do.
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, 1749-1832

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