May 22, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

Richard Wagner, b. 1813.
Mary Cassatt, b.1844.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, b.1859.

“We’re always living a life where we’re chasing a sense of self which feels, underneath it, inauthentic.  And then life becomes a compensation for not knowing who we are.  It is almost like a wound within us when we get disconnected from the truth of our being.  We do feel that.  And then we’re trying to fill it with love or approval or success or the million ways that we seek fulfillment from outside of ourselves.  But no matter how much fulfillment we get, there’s that place inside that until we’ve realized the truth of our being, we will feel estranged from our own being.  And from each other.” -Adyashanti.

Diners in a Maryland beach town are bouncing back — literally, thanks to one restaurant’s fun social-distancing idea.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An idle oil pumping unit is silhouetted against the setting sun, in a field south of Oakley, Kansas, USA. Surplus global oil production coupled with reduced demand as people stay home because of coronavirus restrictions have led to the lowest oil prices in decades which have only recently started to rebound somewhat.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/CHARLIE RIEDEL

In this long exposure image, the H-2B Launch Vehicle No. 9 carrying unmanned Kounotori 9 (HTV9) cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station leaves a light trail after its launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Minamikyushu, Kagoshima, Japan. The Kounotori 9 will arrive at the ISS on May 25 with about 6.2 tons of goods, including food, beverages and Japanese lithium-ion batteries.
CREDIT: THE ASHAHI SHIMBUN VIA GETTY IMAGES

Cloud inversion in Hope Valley, Derbyshire, UK at sunrise.
CREDIT: GREG MARTHA BUTLER/BAV MEDIA

Dancers from the Lion King UK Tour which was playing in Edinburgh before the lockdown have fun on the beach in Portobello, Scotland, UK.
CREDIT: IAIN MASTERTON/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Market Closes for May 22^nd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1928, Thomas Boone Pickens was born in Holdenville, Okla., the son of a “landman” (an agent who tries to get landowners to sell oil companies the rights to explore for oil on their property). He later headed Mesa Petroleum and, with his unsolicited bid to buy Cities Service Co. in 1982, set off the hostile takeover wars of the 1980s. He remained a big personality in the energy world until his death in 2019.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks pared earlier losses to close Friday’s session in positive territory after Shopify Inc. rallied to another record. The S&P/TSX Composite index climbed 0.2% in Toronto, led by the tech sector. Shopify rose 3.2%, setting a new high for the stock. Meanwhile, financials and energy stocks underperformed. Air Canada said that it cut its selling schedule for summer 2020, with 97 destinations down from 220 last year. The company will increase the schedule within Canada from 34 routes in May to 58 routes in June, with more routes added in August and September. Meanwhile, Canada’s six-biggest banks are poised to set aside C$8.9 billion ($6.4 billion) for souring loans in the fiscal second quarter — a record amount that will wipe out more than half the industry’s profits.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,734.73 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2% to C$1.3988 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 4 basis point to 0.507%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite is declining slightly to 14,878.88 in Toronto. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.5 percent. Frontera Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.2 percent. In midday trading, 141 of 229 shares fell, while 87 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.6 percent
* This month, the index rose 0.7 percent
* The index declined 8.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 1.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 17.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 33.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.5 on a trailing basis and 23.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.25t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 25.85 percent compared with 26.25 percent in the previous session and the average of 43.89 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -41.6370| -1.0| 3/23
Energy | -17.5167| -0.9| 3/26
Consumer Discretionary | -3.1651| -0.6| 4/10
Real Estate | -2.2542| -0.5| 9/17
Communication Services | 0.5091| 0.1| 5/3
Utilities | 0.7909| 0.1| 9/7
Health Care | 1.4930| 0.9| 4/6
Consumer Staples | 1.5707| 0.2| 2/9
Industrials | 4.9916| 0.3| 13/18
Materials | 10.0718| 0.5| 27/20
Information Technology | 38.5841| 2.7| 8/2
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied into the close of trading after whipsawing investors during a volatile week that featured optimism over the reopening of the economy and a renewal of trade tensions. The dollar strengthened and oil snapped a six-day winning streak. The S&P 500 index swung between gains and losses before finishing up 0.2%. Technology shares helped the Nasdaq Composite outperform, while Caterpillar and Johnson & Johnson weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Today’s volatility came as traders braced for tension between Washington and Beijing to escalate after China announced plans to impose a national security law on Hong Kong. “It’s been liquidity driven,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital Corp. “We’ve seen unprecedented support from policy makers and
that’s what’s been driving the recent gains, and reopening of major economies.” Investors took some comfort after U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Anthony Fauci said he doesn’t support a prolonged lockdown.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged lower as the risk-off tone took hold earlier in Asia, where Hong Kong’s benchmark stock index plunged more than 5% amid a broad selloff. The yuan dipped as China’s National People’s Congress abandoned its decades-long practice of setting an annual target for economic growth amid uncertainty unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. The prospect of fresh turmoil in Hong Kong following sweeping national security legislation introduced by China comes as the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies appears to be souring. The S&P 500 closed lower on Thursday, with signs mounting that President Donald Trump will make his tough stance on China a key element of his re-election bid. Beijing responded to accusations from Trump, warning that it will safeguard its sovereignty, security and interests, and threatened countermeasures. It all risks choking the rally that took global equities up about 30% from the March lows, spurred by stimulus measures and optimism for a swift economic recovery from the virus. “The market is exhibiting signs of exhaustion,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at INTL FCStone. “That makes sense considering how v-shaped the recovery in stocks has been.” Meanwhile, the pound weakened for a third day as data showed retail sales in the U.K. dropped by almost a fifth in April. Elsewhere, gold rose. The Australian dollar dipped as Fitch Ratings Ltd. cut the country’s rating outlook to negative. Indian bonds rallied after an unscheduled rate cut.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.2% to 2,955.45 as of 4:07 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 24,465.16.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4% to 9,324.59.
The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 0.4% to 491.98.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3% to 1,245.52, the largest rise in more than a week.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 107.60 per dollar.
The euro dipped 0.5% to $1.0903, the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries advanced less than one basis point to 0.17%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.66%.
Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.49%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.9% to $33.41 a barrel, the first retreat in more than a week.
Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,735.28 an ounce.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.  Insensibly one begins to twist facts
to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.
                                                                           -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930.

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