May 15, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
On May 15, 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Go to article >
May 15, 1252: Pope Innocent IV issues the papal “Ad exstirpanda,” which authorizes the use of torture by the Inquisition.

L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, b. 1856.
Henry James, writer, b. 1843.
“Live all you can – it’s a mistake not to.  It doesn’t so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life.  If you haven’t had that, what have you had?” -Henry James.

Nepali Sherpa ties Mount Everest climbing record.  This year’s climbing season has been packed with impressive milestones. The latest record-holder scaled Everest for the 26th time on Sunday.

Sweden’s Loreen wins historic second Eurovision.  This year’s show boasted an array of strong and eccentric performances, but Sweden took home the title of winning act.

The best laptop actually worth buying, as tested by CNN’s editors.  We extensively test the latest laptops on the market from the likes of Apple, Dell and Samsung to help you figure out what’s actually worth spending your money on. Here are our picks for the best laptops you can buy now.

Mysterious, ultra low-frequency noises detected in Earth’s atmosphere — and scientists can’t explain them
Solar-powered balloons detected strange rumblings at a height of 70,000 feet above the Earth’s surface. Scientists can’t identify them. Read More

5,400-year-old tomb discovered in Spain perfectly captures the summer solstice
Archaeologists have discovered a 5,400-year-old megalithic tomb near a prominent lone mountain in southern Spain, suggesting the peak may have been meaningful to prehistoric people there. Read More

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cannes, France
The official poster of the 76th Cannes film festival featuring a photo of Catherine Deneuve by Jack Garofalo adorns the facade of the Palais des Festivals.  Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images

Jaffa, Israel
A rare female Mediterranean monk seal lies on the shore Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Mexico City, Mexico
A heron in a chinampa (floating farm).  Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 15^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1878, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was established, primarily to trade bonds.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.6%, or 120.35 to 20,539.97 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.5% on May 5.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.8%.
Spartan Delta Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.8%.
Today, 158 of 232 shares rose, while 70 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 2.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 2.3% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.4% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 14.9% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.3 on a trailing basis and 13.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.24t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.78% compared with 9.00% in the previous session and the average of 9.51% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 50.3299| 0.8| 19/10
Materials | 28.4965| 1.1| 39/10
Energy | 23.9154| 0.7| 31/8
Information Technology | 13.4056| 0.9| 8/4
Real Estate | 3.9698| 0.8| 17/3
Utilities | 3.0331| 0.3| 8/7
Industrials | 2.8658| 0.1| 19/8
Health Care | 0.3393| 0.5| 3/3
Communication Services | -0.6402| -0.1| 3/2
Consumer Discretionary | -0.9405| -0.1| 9/6
Consumer Staples | -4.4220| -0.5| 2/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Constellation Software | 13.2700| 3.8| -0.2| 27.0
RBC | 9.9160| 0.8| 15.6| 2.8
Nutrien | 9.7230| 3.3| -7.8| -15.2
Dollarama | -1.4230| -0.9| -29.2| 5.7
Centerra Gold | -2.4740| -18.1| 209.5| 5.0
Waste Connections | -2.7340| -0.8| -42.5| 7.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market remained stuck in a tight range, with investors waiting for clarity on whether Washington lawmakers will be able to reach a deal to avert a US default.
Equities saw small gains on the eve of a meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — with both sides sending mixed signals.
Two Federal Reserve officials indicated they favored pausing rate hikes, renewing appetite for tech mega-caps.
The approval of Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc. by the European Union also helped sentiment.
Stocks fell earlier Monday as data showed New York manufacturing plunged the most since April 2020.
This week’s figures will likely underscore more economic weakness, emboldening the Fed’s dovish voices even though inflation has failed to reassure, according to Anna Wong at Bloomberg Economics.
Results from retailers like giant Walmart Inc. will also be highly scrutinized.
“There is little conviction on either side as the market continues to digest earnings, a slew of economic data, and finger-pointing in Washington regarding the debt ceiling discussions,” said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler.
To Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, it’s fair to ask whether the low equity volatility suggests the market is being too complacent — especially after the S&P 500 notched its narrowest non-holiday weekly range since August 2021.
“A debt default may not be the most likely scenario, but any prolonged debate or unexpected development has the potential to trigger higher volatility,” he noted.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Marko Kolanovic joined a chorus of Wall Street strategists Monday in warning that the US debt-ceiling impasse is yet another headwind threatening the outlook for equity markets.
Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson delivered a similar warning on the debt-ceiling deadline, noting the bank’s clients said the issue is unlikely to be resolved without some near-term volatility.
Meanwhile, BlackRock Investment Institute’s Jean Boivin and Wei Li said they expect a potential debt showdown to trigger renewed volatility.
Key events this week:
* China retail sales, industrial production, Tuesday
* Eurozone GDP, Tuesday
* US retail sales, industrial production, business inventories, Tuesday
* Fed speakers include Cleveland’s Loretta Mester, New York’s John Williams, Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic and Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee, Tuesday
* Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
* BOE Governor Andrew Bailey delivers keynote speech, Wednesday
* US housing starts, Wednesday
* US initial jobless claims, Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in panel at Brazil central bank conference, Friday
* New York Fed’s John Williams speaks at monetary policy research conference in Washington; Fed Chair Jerome Powell and former chair Ben Bernanke to take part in panel discussion, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0875
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.2530
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 136.06 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.7% to $27,413.57
* Ether rose 1.7% to $1,828.92
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.49%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.82%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $71.14 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Peyton Forte and Carly Wanna.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. –Lao Tzu, c. 6^th century BCE.

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