May 16, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 16^th, 1960: Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, built with ruby crystals.
The U2 Incident: On May 16, 1960, a harsh exchange between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and President Dwight D. Eisenhower doomed a much heralded summit conference between the two nations, following the Soviet downing of an American U-2 reconnaissance plane. Go to article > 

Martha Stewart is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.  The lifestyle businesswoman, 81, is the oldest swimsuit model to grace the magazine’s cover.

Amazon is changing its deliveries behind the scenes.  The company is unpacking a new plan that may decrease shipping times.

Diver unexpectedly discovers Roman-era shipwreck carrying beautiful marble columns off Israel’s coast
A diver off the coast of Israel discovered an 1,800-year-old Roman shipwreck containing 44 tons of artifacts. Read More

Bizarre Martian ‘book’ spotted by NASA’s Curiosity rover
The rover spotted a tiny Martian rock that looks eerily like a fossilized book on the surface of the Red Planet. Read More

James Webb telescope discovers ancient ‘water world’ in nearby star system
Astronomers have finally peered past the clouds on the exoplanet GJ 1214b, a mini-Neptune planet around a star about 40 light-years away. Read More

A man’s rare gene variant may have shielded him from devastating form of early Alzheimer’s
The discovery of a gene variant that protects against an early, insidious form of Alzheimer’s could lead to new treatments for the disease. Read More

Scientists discover 62 new moons around Saturn, raising total to 145 — the most in the solar system
Jupiter’s brief but glorious reign as the planet with the most moons in our solar system came crashing down this week as scientists confirmed the discovery of new moons orbiting Saturn. Read More

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Berlin, Germany
A herd of cattle grazes outside the Reichstag building during a protest by Greenpeace and animal rights activists over how much time the animals should spend on pastures.
Photograph: Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters

Hiroshima, Japan
A tricycle donated by the father of a boy who died in the 1945 atomic bombing is displayed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum. G7 leaders will meet in Hiroshima from 19 to 21 May, looking to address the Ukraine war, and agree a united line on China’s growing military and economic power.  Photograph: Richard A Brooks/AFP/Getty Images

Ardingly, UK
Catherine Nelson poses with her installation, Planet Wakehurst, at Wakehurst Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in West Sussex. The 1,550 sq metre canvas – the equivalent of 25 double-decker buses and one of the UK’s largest outdoor installations – features a photo montage of Wakehurst gardens’ world-leading plant collections and is wrapped around a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion house. Visitors can view the display from a 33ft high platform offering views across Wakehurst’s wild landscape and the South Downs.  Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA
Market Closes for May 16^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1972, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange became the first to launch foreign-currency futures trading. University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman rang the opening bell after inspiring the exchange to get into the business.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.5% at 20,242.07 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.6% on March 15 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%.
Today, energy stocks led the market lower, as all sectors lost; 192 of 232 shares fell, while 39 rose.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8%. Iamgold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.8%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 16 times. The next day, it declined nine times for an average 0.8% and advanced seven times for an average 1.3%
* The index was little changed in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.8% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 13.3% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.7% in the past 5 days and fell 1.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.26t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.87% compared with 8.78% in the previous session and the average of 9.52% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -91.5130| -2.7| 2/38
Financials | -82.4667| -1.3| 2/26
Materials | -52.5923| -2.0| 6/44
Information Technology | -17.8443| -1.2| 5/7
Utilities | -10.9336| -1.2| 4/12
Industrials | -10.3517| -0.4| 11/16
Real Estate | -9.8902| -2.0| 1/20
Consumer Discretionary | -8.5716| -1.1| 3/12
Consumer Staples | -7.9408| -0.9| 1/10
Communication Services | -4.7679| -0.5| 3/2
Health Care | -1.0186| -1.5| 1/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Enbridge | -27.8600| -3.8| 55.5| -5.4
RBC | -25.2200| -2.0| 7.2| 0.8
TD Bank | -17.3400| -1.7| -47.4| -7.0
Air Canada | 1.0770| 2.2| 54.2| 11.4
CGI Inc | 1.2060| 0.6| -6.5| 20.1
Thomson Reuters | 1.7590| 1.0| -8.1| 8.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders remained glued to the latest developments on whether Washington will raise the debt ceiling and prevent a historic default, with both stocks and bonds falling.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1%, underperforming other benchmarks.  
Yields rose across the US curve, with the rate on 30-year notes climbing to around 3.9% — the highest since the run-up to the banking turmoil that erupted in early March — amid Pfizer Inc.’s $31 billion debt sale.
President Joe Biden launched negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday, as leaders in Washington race to reach a budget deal and avoid a US default.
The meeting at the White House comes amid signs negotiators are struggling to find common ground, with entrenched disagreements on the size and scope of concessions to raise the federal spending limit.
“Since both sides know what is at stake, default is improbable,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. “However, every day closer to the Treasury’s June 1 deadline without a resolution will likely elevate volatility in markets, trim demand for US risk assets, and even expedite recession.”

The mood among global fund managers soured further in May, with investors flocking to cash amid concerns that a recession and credit crunch are looming, according to Bank of America Corp.’s latest survey.
The sentiment among fund managers deteriorated to the most bearish this year, with 65% of survey participants now expecting a weaker economy, B of A’s poll showed.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said the central bank is unable to do much about slow long-term economic growth, but can “do its part” by curbing prices.
Her Richmond counterpart Thomas Barkin said he was still looking to be convinced that inflation has been defeated and that he’d support raising rates further if needed.
US retail sales increased in April, suggesting consumer spending is holding up in the face of economic headwinds including inflation and high borrowing costs.
“There is nothing in this series that will take a June rate hike off the table — although we are doubtful one comes to fruition,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “Instead, the Fed will err on the side of retaining terminal for as long as possible as economic headwinds continue to mount, but remain contained for the time being.”
Key events this week:
* 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 fell 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0863
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2480
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 136.32 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $26,933.21
* Ether fell 0.5% to $1,816.84
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.53%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.82%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $70.56 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1.4% to $1,993.90 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee and Carly Wanna

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems. – Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1908-1979.

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