May 19, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 19, 15636~ Anne Boleyn, second wife of English King Henry VIII, is beheaded at the Towe of London on charges of adultery, incest and treason.
May 19, 1936~ Gone with the Wind published
May 19, 2001~ Apple, Inc. opened its first retail stores, in Tysons Corner, Va., and Glendale, Calif. Go to article »

Antarctica just lost a Majorca-sized iceberg.

There are 65 species that “laugh.”

How the Pentagon started taking UFOs seriously

See a ghost town on a Norwegian archipelago in the High Arctic.

Fans of John le Carré, who died last year, are in for a treat: “Silverview,” a full-length novel that he left behind, will be out in October.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunrise over St Mary’s lighthouse north of Whitley Bay on the coast of north east England
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

Balinese have their bodies painted as they take part in the sacred Ngerebeg ritual at a village in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
CREDIT: MADE MAGI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Sophia Dignam plays the Viola along with other members of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra at Harewood House, Leeds. The orchestra has been re-formed, after half a century, to support freelance musicians hit by the coronavirus pandemic
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA

Market Closes for May 19^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1568, one of the earliest known junk bonds was issued, as the Russia Co. borrowed 4,000 pounds, 8 shillings, and 10 pence from the British exchequer. The loan was priced to yield 13.5%, and the company had to repay it not with cash, but with hundreds of tons of cables and rope—making it one of the earliest “asset-backed” loans as well
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell with the broader equity market selloff, led by declines in commodities due to inflation concerns. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.5% in Toronto. Energy, materials were the worst performers as commodities futures swooned under the weight of inflation fears and concern about the resilience of Chinese demand. Meanwhile, consumer prices in Canada climbed at the fastest rate in a decade, outpacing estimates and potentially fueling concerns that the country — much of which is still in lockdown — is entering a period of persistent inflation.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $14.65 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold flat at $1,870.48 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.5% to C$1.2123 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose to 1.579%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5 percent at 19,417.03 in Toronto, ending a 4-day gain.  The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.9 percent.  Teck Resources Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 9.8 percent. Today, 155 of 229 shares fell, while 71 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 30 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 43 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7 percent below its 52-week high on May 18, 2021 and 31.3 percent above its low on May 21, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.1 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.05t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.40 percent compared with 9.38 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.88 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | -56.3092| -2.3| 1/21
* Materials | -48.2469| -1.9| 9/43
* Financials | -24.2796| -0.4| 9/18
* Consumer Discretionary | -4.2275| -0.5| 2/11
* Real Estate | -2.8568| -0.5| 7/19
* Industrials | -2.1273| -0.1| 11/18
* Health Care | -1.3956| -0.6| 2/8
* Communication Services | -1.1779| -0.1| 4/4
* Consumer Staples | 2.9885| 0.4| 8/5
* Utilities | 6.1606| 0.7| 11/4
* Information Technology | 41.4619| 2.3| 7/4

US
By Richard Richtmyer and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed mixed and Treasury yields rose as minutes showed Federal Reserve officials were cautiously optimistic about the U.S. recovery at their April meeting, with some signaling they’d be open “at some point” to discussing scaling back the central bank’s massive bond purchases. The S&P 500 fell for a third day, and 10-year Treasury yields jumped to session highs following the release. Energy and raw-material stocks fell the most as commodities prices tumbled amid mounting concern about inflation and potential curbs on monetary stimulus. The Nasdaq 100 notched a small advance, boosted by late-day gains in tech stocks including Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. “We saw 10-year yields rise pretty sharply, clearly an upward move after the minutes were released — it looks like it all comes down to minor changes in wording on tapering,” said Collin Martin, fixed-income strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research. “There might be a few participants who are getting a little eager to start the discussion, which might be more than the markets were expecting. For anyone waiting for the taper, this could be a hint it’s coming sooner rather than later.” Cryptocurrency-exposed shares including Coinbase Global Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Blockchain Inc. each fell more than 5% after Bitcoin touched its lowest level since January before bouncing back.
Tesla Inc. fell to a two-month  low after data showed a slowdown in China sales. Target Corp. rallied to a record high after predicting a more profitable year as quarterly sales soared. At its worst moment, Bitcoin dropped about 30% to within a whisker of $30,000. It pared that decline to about 8% by 4 p.m. New York time. Other cryptocurrencies held double-digit percentage losses, pressured in part by a Tuesday statement from the People’s Bank of China reiterating that digital tokens can’t be used as a form of payment. “Tactically, it seems a bit overdone as fundamentals have changed modestly,” Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners, said of the crypto rout. “However, this type of volatility is a reminder that the asset class is pure. This type of move could flush out some of the casual crypto investors, since we haven’t seen this type of downward volatility in some time.” Stocks have lost steam in recent sessions, with pricier sectors such as technology tumbling on worries about inflation and a Covid-19 resurgence in some countries. While policymakers have signaled they intend to maintain an accommodative stance for some time to come, traders will parse the Fed’s minutes for clues about the outlook. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which touched a nine-year high last week, fell for a second day as oil, copper, soybeans and almost every other futures contract linked to industrial and agricultural staples retreated.
Here are some key events this week:
* IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and ECB President Christine Lagarde speak at the Vienna Economic Dialogue Thursday
* Euro-area finance ministers and central bank chiefs hold an informal meeting. A larger group of EU finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet May 22

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4:04 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.2176
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.4118
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 109.22 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 1.68%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.11%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.85%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.1% to $63 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,871 an ounce
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello, Andreea Papuc, Justina Lee and Cecile Gutscher.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Always set a high value on spontaneous kindness. –Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784.

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