March 17, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

IRISH BLESSING
May you live a long life full of gladness and health,
with a pocket full of gold as the least of your wealth. 
May the dreams you hold dearest be those which come true,
and the kindness you spread keep returning  to you.

March 17, 1755: Transylvania Land Co. buys Kentucky from a Cherokee Chief for $50,000.
2003 Edging to the brink of war, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected the ultimatum. Go to article »

Nat “King” Cole, singer, b. 1919.
Rudolph Nureyev, dancer, b. 1938.

The human brain developed because larger animals went extinct.

Lightning may have sparked life on Earth.  That finding could have implications in the search for life beyond this planet.

Here are the foods with the most and least pesticides.  Spoiler alert: Strawberries continue to top the “Dirty Dozen” list.

A man with autism asks future employers to ‘take a chance on me’ in a heartfelt, handwritten viral letter.  He’s since received thousands of comments, connections, potential mentors and even job offers.

Venture into the underground for a tour of the world’s longest art gallery and other hidden wonders. (Click here to view.)

Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of 2,000-year-old Dead Sea scroll fragments during an excavation of the so-called Cave of Horror in the Judean desert. It is the first such discovery in the desert south of Jerusalem in more than 60 years.

“Because in a CBS poll, a third of Republicans said they would not be vaccinated. Come on, Republicans! Not everything is political. How do we convince you that you want it? Would it feel safer if the vaccine was administered by an AR-15?” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A great cormorant birds perches on tree branches as the sun rises at Taudaha Lake, on the outskirts of the Kathmandu valley, Nepal
CREDIT: NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A bear clashes with a tigress at Ranthambore National Park in western Rajasthan, India.
CREDIT: ADITYA DICKY SINGH / CATERS NEWS

A stunning sunset over Manstone Rock on the Stiperstones nature reserve, Shropshire
CREDIT: ANDREW FUSEK PETERS / SWNS

Market Closes for March 17^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1938, the governing committee of the New York Stock Exchange agreed unanimously to expel former president Richard Whitney, who had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of securities from trust funds under his oversight.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to project near-zero interest rates at least through 2023 despite rising inflation concerns. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.6% in Toronto, more than recouping the 0.4% drop on Tuesday. Pot stocks and miners led the rally while consumer staples fared the worst. Meanwhile, Mexico and Canada are at the top of President Joe Biden’s list of countries to eventually receive exports of U.S.-made coronavirus vaccines, according to a U.S. official familiar with the plans.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at an $10.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $1,744.63 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.2407 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 1 basis point to 1.583%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 18,983.10 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.4 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.4 percent. Enerplus Corp. had the largest increase, rising 7.8 percent. Today, 126 of 219 shares rose, while 92 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 8.9 percent
* The index advanced 50 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 61 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on
March 17, 2021 and 69.9 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
28 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.92t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.49 percent compared with
11.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.03 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 36.5146| 0.6| 14/12
Materials | 31.2341| 1.4| 43/7
Information Technology | 19.0520| 1.0| 3/7
Energy | 16.6831| 0.7| 17/4
Consumer Discretionary | 6.0558| 0.8| 5/8
Industrials | 5.1799| 0.2| 14/15
Health Care | 4.0123| 1.4| 8/1
Real Estate | -0.9244| -0.2| 8/18
Communication Services | -1.7017| -0.2| 6/1
Utilities | -2.1740| -0.2| 5/11
Consumer Staples | -4.8374| -0.7| 3/8
US
By Olivia Raimonde and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose to record highs and yields on longer-maturity U.S. debt retreated from more than one-year highs after the Federal Reserve continued to project near-zero interest rates at least through 2023 despite rising inflation concerns. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note retreated from its highs of the day as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank wants to see inflation moderately above 2% and said the recent move higher in yields wasn’t disorderly. The S&P 500 climbed to the highest level on record, led by the consumer discretionary, industrial and materials sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also close at an all-time high. “Overall a big sigh of relief for equities since interest rates are still likely to remain near zero for an extended period, despite the massive double stimulus from the Fed and Congress,” said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners. Expectations of a strong recovery from the Covid-19 slump put an intense focus on Fed officials’ projections for interest rates displayed in their “dot plot.” The central bank raised its economic outlook. Seven of 18 officials predicted higher rates by the end of 2023 compared with five of 17 at the December meeting, showing a slightly larger group who see an earlier start than peers to the withdrawal of ultra-easy monetary policy, according to the FOMC’s quarterly economic projections also issued Wednesday.
“The Fed was dovish relative to some fears of ‘hawkish dots’, but since we didn’t get that ‘hawkish’ outcome, stocks are having a relief move,” said Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI. “Bottom line, the inflation/growth forecasts the Fed has along with no rate hikes for three years is a positive backdrop for risk assets.” The yield on 30-year Treasuries had spiked to a level unseen since 2019 and the 10-year hit 1.69%. Market-implied inflation expectations were at 12-year highs. The dollar weakened versus most major peers. Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell, and South Korean stocks retreated as Samsung Electronics Co. warned it’s grappling with the fallout from a “serious imbalance” in semiconductors globally. WTI crude oil was little changed with the International Energy Agency saying markets aren’t on the verge of a new price super cycle. Bitcoin climbed off the lows of the day back toward the weekend record of above $61,000.
These are some key events this week:
* Bank of England rate decision Thursday. BOE is expected to leave monetary policy unchanged.
* Bank of Japan monetary policy decision and Governor Haruhiko Kuroda briefing Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% to 3,974.16 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.6% to 33,016.16, the highest on record.
The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4% to 13,525.20, the highest in more than two weeks.
The Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 0.4% to 13,202.38, the highest in more than two weeks.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.4% to 424.91, the largest drop in more than a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5% to 1,134.14, the lowest in more than two weeks.
The euro jumped 0.6% to $1.1976, the largest climb in almost six weeks.
The British pound jumped 0.5% to $1.3963, the biggest increase in almost four weeks.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 108.89 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to
0.14%, the lowest in more than two weeks on the biggest dip in almost three weeks.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.64%, the highest in more than 13 months.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 2.41%, the highest in 16 months.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained five basis points to -0.29%, the
highest in more than a week on the largest climb in two weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.4% to $64.57 a barrel, the lowest in a week.
Gold strengthened 0.8% to $1,745.72 an ounce, the highest in almost three weeks on the largest gain in more than a week.
–With assistance from David Wilson.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

When you appeared in this world, you cried, and all the people around you rejoiced.  You have to live your life
in such a way that when you leave this world, you will rejoice,
and all the people around you will cry. –Indian Wisdom.

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