March 25, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Annunciation (Christian) ~ nine months until Christmas.
Old New Year’s Day was on this day until 1751.
On March 25, 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.  Go to article »

Aretha Franklin, b. 1942.
Elton John, b. 1947

The Olympic torch relay has begun, and the flame is on its way to Tokyo for the July start of the Summer Games.

Timeless Tunes: The Library of Congress designated 25 recordings as “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time.” Among the picks: a song by Kermit the Frog.

Possible evidence for dark matter sub-halos in nearby star cluster.

The Staying Inside Guide: Big-Deal Art in Plain-Spoken Venues: During the Great Depression, federal programs funded the creation of thousands of murals in post offices, hospitals and other locations across the country, many of which can now be viewed online.

Tugs and diggers are working to freeing the Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given, the  massive container vessel that’s blocking the Suez Canal
CREDIT: SUEZ CANAL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

from The Late Night Hosts:
“Do you know how stressful it is to parallel-park when there’s someone behind you? Imagine blocking a whole hemisphere.” — JIMMY FALLON

“I get it — after a year of quarantine, nothing fits anymore. They should have put that ship into their stretchy canal. You know, the one that looks like denim, but gives, and it’s smart enough to go from sofa to brunch.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“I’ll give you a sense of how huge these container ships are: This one is as long as New York’s Empire State Building is tall. Well, there’s your problem. You should have sailed it through upright.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“If you look closely, the ship has a tiny bumper sticker that says ‘student driver.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“I also feel bad for the guys behind that ship, because it’s not like there’s a lot of alternate routes. Can you imagine if you are on one of those ships looking at your Waze app like, ‘What? Go around Africa?’” — TREVOR NOAH

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lasers in the formation of a Rainbow shine from the top of Edinburgh Castle, Scotland for Burns and Beyond
CREDIT: DUNCAN MCGLYNN

The massive object at the centre of the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy
CREDIT: EHT COLLABOTATION/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

The Imperial Green Jade Memorial Seal for the Hongxi Period of China’s Yongle Empress Wen in Ming Dynasty, is displayed during an auction preview in Hong Kong
CREDIT: KIN CHEUNG/AP

A man lies over the flower petals at ground floor of Rafharani Temple after the Holi celebration
CREDIT: AVISHEK DAS / SOPA IMAGES/SIPA USA

Market Closes for March 25^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1885, the over-the-counter market got going, as the New York Stock Exchange established its Department of Unlisted Securities to trade the shares of smaller companies.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities reversed their drop to closer higher Thursday, with multiple groups paring losses. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1% as nine of 11 sectors rose. Tech and materials lagged, while health care led the charge. Oil dropped as a strengthening dollar and mounting lockdowns in Europe blunted the potential impact of crude cargoes backing up outside the blocked Suez Canal. Canada’s efforts to combat climate change scored a major victory after the country’s top court ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national carbon tax is constitutional. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced C$7.2 billion in new Covid-related funding on Thursday for Canadian provinces, cities and territories.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,727.20 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2% to C$1.2612 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield slipped to 1.47%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.1 percent at 18,651.10 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 0.6 percent on March 17 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent. Bank of Montreal contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.5 percent. Boralex Inc. had the largest increase, rising 5.0 percent. Today, 132 of 231 shares rose, while 93 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 7 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.3 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 1.1 percent
* The index advanced 42 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 60 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2 percent below its 52-week high on
March 17, 2021 and 49.3 percent above its low on March 25, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
27.6 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.9t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.54 percent compared with
11.60 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.49 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 37.8971| 0.6| 22/6
Health Care | 7.7499| 2.8| 10/0
Consumer Discretionary | 7.1255| 1.0| 10/3
Energy | 6.9377| 0.3| 9/15
Utilities | 3.9793| 0.4| 13/3
Industrials | 3.2072| 0.1| 20/9
Communication Services | 2.8802| 0.3| 7/1
Consumer Staples | 2.8275| 0.4| 8/5
Real Estate | 0.1476| 0.0| 9/15
Materials | -10.1001| -0.5| 17/32
Information Technology | -39.8649| -2.2| 7/4
US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities gained as investors weighed the outlook for vaccinations, economic growth and inflation. Oil tumbled after a rally spurred by the blockage of the Suez Canal. Banks and transportation companies led gains on the S&P 500 Index, and Boeing Co.’s plan to resume delivery of its 787 Dreamliners this week lifted the plane maker. An index of small- cap shares gained more than 1% as President Joe Biden announced a new goal of administering 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office. Nike Inc. fell on concern it risked a boycott in China. U.S.
10-year yields held steady after an auction of seven- year notes. Poor demand at last month’s sale helped trigger a global selloff in government debt and interest-rate sensitive stocks. U.S. equities are churning just below record highs as investors assess the latest progress and setbacks in the fight against Covid-19 amid concerns that a surge in economic growth could fuel inflation. Data Thursday showed a bigger-than- forecast drop in weekly jobless claims. “The markets are stuck in a lull where they are still taking some direction from the move in interest rates,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. “At this point we’re trying to get some more news globally that will be the next catalyst.”
In Europe, stocks edged lower, with concern over lockdown extensions and vaccine hiccups keeping cyclical shares on the back foot. The Polish zloty slumped to its weakest level since 2009 on growing concern that a worsening pandemic will delay this year’s economic recovery and put a strain on the budget. West Texas Intermediate crude fell below $60 a barrel, after adding almost 6% Wednesday. Tugs and diggers are trying to dislodge the ship stuck for a third day in the Suez Canal, a critical waterway for trade. Elsewhere, Bitcoin fell as much as 6.7%, reaching the lowest intraday price since March 15.
These are some key events to watch this week:
* The U.S. Treasury auctions seven-year debt.
* U.S. personal income and spending data on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% as of 3:08 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.
* The euro slipped 0.4% to $1.177.
* The British pound gained 0.4% to $1.3734.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 109.22 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to -0.39%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield sank three basis points to 0.73%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.6% to $58.39 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.3% to $1,729.83 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cecile Gutscher, Emily Barrett and Andreea Papuc.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down. –Charlie Chaplin, 1889-1977

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