March 8, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 8, 1965: 57 Years Ago today… in 1965, The United States landed about 3,500 Marines in South Vietnam.  Go to article » 
2014: During a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared,  prompting a massive search effort that was finally called off in early 2017.  The disappearance remains one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries.
1913: US income tax begins.
1917: Russian Revolution begins.
1983: President Ronald Reagan calls USSR an “evil empire”.

White noise helps people learn.

Academy of Country Music Awards 2022:  The world’s best country superstars were radiating Southern charm in Las Vegas last night! Did y’all enjoy the show? 

Pixar’s new adorable, animated movie is a must-see.  “Turning Red” is the feel-good movie we all needed right now. Thanks Pixar.
 
Rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age:  Check out these works of art created by humans more than 12,000 years ago.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A field of daffodils in flower at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach. The fourth-generation family-run flower growers farm over 750 hectares, of which over 150 are daffodils. Each summer in excess of 3,000 tonnes of daffodil bulbs pass through the yard
CREDIT: Joe Giddens/PA

Villagers from Haripur and Balipara gather together at the 200-year-old Polo Bawa festival with their traditional fishing nets and ‘polo’ made of bamboo and cane, at a beel (wetland) in the Bangla calendar month of Falgun
CREDIT: Md Rafayat Haque Khan/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

Several hundred swimmers take a sunrise dip in the North Sea at Portobello Beach, for the International Women’s Day Swimrise. Women from all backgrounds, abilities and ages came together in aid of Edinburgh Women’s Aid, Edinburgh Rape Crisis and Held in Our Hearts
CREDIT: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

 Market Closes for March 8^th, 2022 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1817, the New York Stock & Exchange Board, ancestor of the NYSE, was formed when 24 brokers agreed on a “Constitution” that fixed commissions at 0.25% and set a fine of at least six cents for talking out loud about other subjects while stocks were being traded.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities ended a day swings by closing lower as companies in the technology and industrials sectors sunk.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.3%, or 72.37 to 21,232.03 in Toronto.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 5 of 11 sectors lost; 99 of 239 shares fell, while 139 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 7.6%.
Transcontinental Inc. had the largest drop, falling 9.1%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.6% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 15.7% above its low on March 8, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1% in the past 5 days and fell 0.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 14.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.4t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.95% compared with 12.88% in the previous session and the average of 13.60% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -43.3445| -3.3| 11/5
* Industrials | -31.9624| -1.3| 15/15
* Financials | -28.7026| -0.4| 13/15
* Communication Services | -17.4792| -1.6| 3/4
* Real Estate | -1.1053| -0.2| 12/11
* Consumer Discretionary | 1.1827| 0.2| 6/8
* Health Care | 1.8648| 1.4| 7/1
* Consumer Staples | 3.0446| 0.4| 7/4
* Utilities | 5.0591| 0.5| 12/4
* Energy | 11.6029| 0.3| 16/15
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -42.7100| -7.6| 85.1| -61.9
* Nutrien | -20.0200| -4.0| 95.7| 28.5
* Canadian National | -14.8500| -2.2| 62.2| 1.9
* First Quantum Minerals | 6.9410| 5.0| 114.7| 27.7
* Barrick Gold | 10.4900| 2.7| 91.2| 36.0
* Agnico Eagle Mines | 12.2100| 5.3| 66.1| 17.0

US
By Stephen Kirkland and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Volatility continued to grip global financial markets, as U.S. stocks and oil swung wildly on headlines related to the war in Ukraine.
The S&P 500 closed down Tuesday, lurching lower in the last hour of trading on a day that saw the benchmark gain almost 2% and drop as much as 1%.
The index plunged nearly 3% Monday to close more than 12% below its Jan. 3 record.
Stocks, commodities, foreign currencies and sovereign bonds have been swinging wildly in the nearly two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with investors hyper attuned to any change in sentiment
that could force a recalibration of asset valuations.
“I don’t think the market’s ignoring anything at the moment, to be honest with you,” JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said by phone. “In fact, everything is hyper-sensitive as to what may happen. It’s so fluid and we will see what happens. It’s really tough to predict day-to-day.”
The U.S. stock market is a cauldron of opposing bets linked to the war, its moves amplified by massive options positions which require constant re-balancing by dealers.
Small upward and downward swings — often touched off by erroneous or stale headlines — quickly become big ones as market makers rush to buy and sell stocks to keep their books neutral, a process known
as hedging gamma, a term for a type of derivatives volatility.
It can amplify every news item, at times.
“We’re looking for any indication of peace,” said Peter Mallouk, president of Creative Planning, which has about $230 billion in assets under management.
Should markets get that news, “we’re going to see an extremely sharp recovery.”
The sanctions and war have roiled especially roiled commodities, sending oil surging along with materials from nickel to wheat.
That is complicating the task for policy makers, who face a delicate balancing act in tightening to curb inflation without killing the economic recovery.
Federal Reserve officials are set to meet on March 16 to review interest rates.
“We have a combination of soaring inflation and tightening financial conditions, and that is putting all of us in a bit of a bind, but it’s really putting the Fed into a bind,” said Kathy Jones, chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab, on Bloomberg Surveillance. “I think the risk is more tightening than expected rather than less.”
Market expectations for a 25-basis-point rate hike next week and as many as six more this year would be “a big hill to climb right now given the tightening of financial conditions” she said.
Stocks briefly dipped to session lows and oil climbed as U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on imports of Russian fossil fuels including oil.
The move will be matched by the U.K., which said it would ban oil imports, though it will continue to allow natural gas and coal from the country.
Treasuries held losses, with the 10-year yield earlier jumping along with its German counterpart following the report that the European Union is considering joint bond sales to counter the fallout from the war. The euro rose for the first time in more than a week against the dollar.
The proposal may be presented after the bloc’s leaders hold an informal summit in Versailles, France, that starts Thursday, according to officials familiar with the preparations.
The move comes just a year after the EU launched an emergency package backed by joint debt to finance efforts to deal with the pandemic.
Now, the bloc faces massive financing needs as it begins to reform its military and energy infrastructure. 
Here are some key events this week:
* EIA crude oil inventory report, Wednesday
* China aggregate financing, PPI, CPI, money supply, new yuan loans, Wednesday
* Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks, Wednesday and Friday
* European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde briefing after policy meeting, Thursday
* U.S. CPI, initial jobless claims, Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0906
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3099
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 115.65 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced eight basis points to 1.86%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 13 basis points to 0.11%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 14 basis points to 1.45%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.6% to $124.85 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 3.2% to $2,059.40 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Sunil Jagtiani, Robert Brand, Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The universe possesses a great beauty that is unspoken, the four seasons have virtues that go undiscussed and nature has logic that is not mentioned.  For this reason the Magi exist in inaction and sages do not act but follow the course of nature. -Zhungzi, c.369 BC–c.301 BC.

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