March 4, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Antonio Vivaldi, composer, b. 1675

1789 – US constitution went into effect.

On March 4, 1933, the start of President Roosevelt’s first administration brought with it the first woman to serve in the Cabinet: Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.  Go to article »

Lives Lived: The Japanese artist Toko Shinoda’s fluid, elegant work owed much to calligraphy, but she also complemented its ancient serenity with the influence of Jackson Pollock
and Mark Rothko. She died at 107.

Scientists build a robot that can swim in the Mariana Trench. (h/t Scott Kominers)

Power workers discover medieval tunnel system in Wales.

Scientists create human-Neanderthal “minibrains” in petri dishes, for some reason. (h/t Mike Smedley).

NYC woman discovers entire empty apartment behind her bathroom mirror.

Hunting for a giant black hole, astronomers found a nest of darkness

“You see, Q followers were heartbroken on Inauguration Day, which was supposed to be the day that the ‘storm’ came that would keep their guy actually in office. So they’ve moved the date of the storm — when all the arrests and the celebrities and the Democrats happen — to March 4, which was the date of presidential inaugurations up until 1933. [Imitating QAnon follower] ‘Yes, follow me down the rabbit hole. They ended it in 1933, but add up one, nine, three, three. Add up one plus six, you get seven. What is seven? Three plus four — three, four, March 4th, when we shall march forth! [Whispers] I see patterns where none exist.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Photographer James Crombie captured the incredible image, which he said he had been chasing for months. The picture – which shows the starlings appearing to resemble a bird – has been described as “phenomenal” by some, while others have praised Mr Crombie for his patience in getting the stunning shot
CREDIT: INPHO/JAMES CROMBIE

The Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna wakes up with a lava fountain emerging from the southeast crater.  Etna has been in activity since February 16^th
CREDIT: DIT / SPLASHNEWS.COM

The Urban Sun, an art project launched by Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde is seen on a square in Rotterdam,  Netherlands
CREDIT: DAAN ROOSEGAARDE/COVER IMAGES

Polar bear cubs were spotted emerging out of their den for the very first time and playing inquisitively in the snow. The tiny cubs are just a couple of months old, and no bigger than a Yorkshire terrier dog – but appear confident and inquisitive as they run about and smell the trees and the outside world. The twin bear cubs did not stray too far from their protective mother as they took their first steps into the outside world in a blanket of thick snow near Churchill, northern Canada
Market Closes for March 4^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1933, with the nation’s banking system in shambles, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a nationwide bank holiday, shutting banks, stock exchanges, commodities exchanges and money markets. The stock exchanges reopened on March 15, but 3,460 out of some 18,000 total banks stayed closed for good.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell for a second day along with U.S. stocks after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell underwhelmed markets by refraining from pushing back more forcefully against the recent spike in U.S. Treasury yields. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 1.1% in Toronto, after falling 0.6% on Wednesday. Only consumer staples and energy sectors were in the green, while pot and tech stocks were the worst performers. Meanwhile, the Canadian government’s aid package for the country’s airlines may be at least C$7 billion ($5.5 billion) and a larger infusion is possible, Unifor National President Jerry Dias told Bloomberg Television.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at an $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,6983.73 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.1% to C$1.2670 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield climbed about 8 basis points to 1.491%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.1 percent, or 194.95 to 18,125.72 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.8 percent. Kinaxis Inc. had the largest drop, falling 17.0 percent. Today, 145 of 219 shares fell, while 72 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 0.4 percent
* The index advanced 8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC
Americas Index gained 21 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.4 percent below its 52-week high on
Feb. 16, 2021 and 62.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.5 percent in the past 5 days
and rose 0.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
26.5 on a trailing basis and 16.5 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$2.84t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.55 percent compared with
15.28 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.07 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -86.5214| -4.5| 1/9
Industrials | -43.5005| -1.9| 8/20
Financials | -32.4048| -0.6| 5/21
Materials | -27.0909| -1.2| 17/32
Consumer Discretionary | -17.2716| -2.3| 1/12
Health Care | -13.6292| -4.8| 0/9
Real Estate | -4.8732| -0.8| 6/20
Utilities | -4.7268| -0.6| 5/11
Communication Services | -0.3831| 0.0| 3/4
Consumer Staples | 8.7348| 1.4| 8/3
Energy | 26.7176| 1.2| 18/4
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks and bonds sold off after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell underwhelmed markets by refraining from pushing back more forcefully against the recent spike in Treasury yields. The S&P 500 briefly erased its advance for 2021 and closed at the lowest level in about five weeks. Benchmark 10-year bond rates topped 1.5% and the dollar climbed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 extended its decline from a February peak to almost 10%, and the Russell 2000 of small caps slid 2.8%. A wave of Reddit users appeared to rush back into GameStop Corp., with the video-game retailer soaring.
Powell said in an online event Thursday that he’d be “concerned” by disorderly markets, but stopped short of offering steps to curb heightened volatility. The surge in Treasury yields has triggered fears about elevated stock valuations after a torrid equity rally from the depths of the pandemic. While bulls have decided to view the jump in rates as a sign of economic strength that could lift corporate profits, there’s been mounting concern over a potential pickup in consumer prices. For Bleakley Advisory Group’s Peter Boockvar, the Fed has put itself in a “tough situation.” “We are again seeing a market that is taking control of monetary policy from the Fed,” said Boockvar, the firm’s chief investment officer. “Long rates are rising right now because Powell is again very dovish.
The more dovish they get in the face of market expectations of higher inflation, the more financial tightening we’ll see.” Despite the lingering uncertainties about the impacts of rising bond yields, such fears are “misplaced,” according to Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital. “As long as the back-up in bond yields reflects stronger growth expectations (versus tighter monetary policy), then the long-term bull market will not be at risk,” she said. “The latest normalization in bond yields should be viewed as an encouraging sign that growth is healing, while the prospect for a hawkish turn from the Federal Reserve is clearly not in the cards today.” Elsewhere, Bitcoin’s appeal as a hedge against inflation was put to the test, with the largest cryptocurrency slumping along with other risk assets. Oil surged after the OPEC+ alliance surprised traders with its decision to keep output unchanged, signaling a tighter crude market in the months ahead. Some key events to watch this week:

* The February U.S. employment report on Friday will provide an
update on the speed and direction of the nation’s labor market recovery.

These are some of the mains moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 decreased 1.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 2.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 2.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.7%.
* The euro decreased 0.8% to $1.1971.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.8% to 107.90 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose five basis points to 1.53%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.31%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased five basis points to 0.731%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.7% to $64.16 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.8% to $1,697.83 an ounce.

–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Emily Barrett, Yakob Peterseil, Lynn Thomasson, Sophie Caronello and Lu Wang

Have a great night.

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another What!  You, too?  I thought I was the only one. -C.S. Lewis, 1897-1963.

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