May 31, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Walt Whitman, poet, b.1819.

1955: U.S. Supreme Court orders school integration.
1790: First US copyright law passed.
1994: The United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.  Go to article »

‘Mona Lisa’ gets caked by man pretending to be disabled.  Check out this bizarre occurrence. Thank goodness for bulletproof (and cake-proof) display cases.

Cannes Film Festival 2022:  Here is the list of winners… and the most stunning red carpet outfits that we Cannes barely handle!

Vietnam’s new glass bridge sets Guinness World Record.  Would you walk across this massive glass bridge? It is said to be strong enough to support up to 450 people at a time (but that’s still not enough to convince me).

The French meal Julia Child called life-changing.  Julia Child, the legendary cookbook author, called this fish dish “perfection.” Lucky for you, we’ve included the recipe here so you can try it yourself. 

United Nations climate scientists say it’s “now or never” to stop catastrophic temperature rises and a breakdown of the climate systems on which our way of life depends. Reports of bomb-like blizzards and searing droughts paint a terrifying picture of the possible reality of climate change. But are we actually witnessing the weather getting worse?   Unfortunately, the answer is yes. 
Full Story: Live Science (5/31) 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A parrot breeder and his birds are seen at the Damai Perdana hill during World Parrot Day
CREDIT: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries demonstrates a goat-like robot that can carry baggage and goods. The firm believes robots will help with labour shortages in the country’s ageing society
CREDIT: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd./Reuters

Rut Larsson, a 103-year-old Swedish woman from Mjolby, lands after jumping in tandem with Joackim Johansson from Linkoping’s parachute club
CREDIT: Jeppe Gustafsson/EPA

Market Closes for May 31^st, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1974, the first money-market mutual fund with check writing privileges, Fidelity Daily Income Trust, opened for business. It was a new weapon in mutual funds’ battle with banks: Instead of having to wait seven days to receive a redemption, investors could use a mutual fund just like a checking account—and the fund, Fidelity’s first no-load offering, raked in more than $800 million in its first ten months.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell for the first time in eight days, with energy and cannabis stocks leading losses.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.9% at 20,729.34 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest one-day drop since falling 1.9% on May 18 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.8%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 14.6%.
Today, 159 of 239 shares fell, while 77 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 5.1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 3.4% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6.7% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 6.4% above its low on May 12, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.2% 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 16.1 on a trailing basis and 13 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.35t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 21.12% compared with 21.15% in the previous session and the average of 18.52% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | -85.8450| -2.1| 3/31
* Materials | -36.3457| -1.4| 10/41
* Financials | -21.0976| -0.3| 15/13
* Industrials | -20.3812| -0.9| 8/22
* Information Technology | -18.6547| -1.6| 3/13
* Communication Services | -3.6865| -0.4| 1/5
* Consumer Staples | -2.2805| -0.3| 5/6
* Utilities | -2.2654| -0.2| 7/9
* Health Care | -1.9752| -2.1| 2/6
* Consumer Discretionary | -0.4387| -0.1| 7/7
* Real Estate | 2.9208| 0.5| 16/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Canadian Natural Resources | -26.7300| -3.8| 77.1| 56.6
* Suncor Energy | -16.5600| -3.2| 61.2| 60.8
* Enbridge | -12.8200| -1.6| -4.0| 18.3
* Dollarama | 2.0850| 1.5| 104.5| 15.9
* Bank of Nova Scotia| 2.8980| 0.4| 39.0| -4.2
* Nutrien | 15.9900| 3.5| 264.0| 30.0
US
By Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — A tumultuous May for markets ended almost exactly where it started in equities, with a late-session drop Tuesday depositing the S&P 500 less than a point higher than its level a month ago.
It was an ironic end to a month that saw volatility surge and debates rage around inflation, the Federal Reserve’s plan to subdue it and the impact on the economy.
The S&P 500 was fell 0.6% on Tuesday, bringing its monthly return to virtually zero.
During the month of May, the benchmark index surged more than 8% after falling within points of a 20% drop from a record, signifying a bear market.
Ten-year Treasury yields climbed 12 basis points to 2.85%, just below where they started the month.
West Texas Intermediate oil was little changed, leaving it 10% higher in the month.
And Bitcoin held above $31,000, down 17% in May.
Equities began the day lower on worries inflation was proving more persistent, intensifying the debate over how quickly central banks will raise interest rates.
Euro-zone consumer prices jumped 8.1% to a record from a year earlier in May.
Meanwhile, WTI crude oil pared gains from a partial ban on Russian oil by the European Union.
The dollar advanced.
Fears central-bank rate hikes may tip the economy into a recession are keeping investors watchful as rising food and energy costs squeeze consumers.
May saw nearly unprecedented volatility in stocks as the S&P 500 plunged more than 3% three different times and capped its longest streak of weekly losses since 2001 only to surge at the month’s end.
The moves come amid skepticism about whether the market is near a trough and as volatility stays elevated.
Swaps show traders have almost fully priced in two half-point rate increases in June and July, with even odds of a third such hike in September.
“When you throw-in the likelihood that earnings estimates are going to have go be cut in a significant way as we move through the summer, it emboldens our view that the stock market will have to see lower-lows before the ultimate bottom for this decline is reached,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., said.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is meeting President Joe Biden in a rare Oval office meeting on Tuesday to discuss inflation ahead of US payroll numbers later this week.
The meeting follows comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday, suggesting the Fed should keep raising rates in half-percentage point steps until inflation is easing back toward the
central bank’s goal.
“It’s times like these when investors need a crystal ball,” wrote LPL Financial strategists Jeff Buchbinder and Ryan Detrick. “We fully acknowledge how tough it is to see the bull case for stocks right now, and a retest of recent lows is certainly possible, but this week we lay out the bull case for the second half of the year. It starts with inflation.”
Among individual stock moves, Deutsche Bank AG slipped after the lender and its asset management unit had their Frankfurt offices raided by police.
Unilever Plc jumped as activist investor Nelson Peltz joined its board.
And US-listed Chinese stocks — including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. — climbed, putting the shares on track to wipe out monthly losses as easing in lockdown measures in major cities and better-than-expected economic data reassured investors. 
Here are some key events to watch this week:
* The Federal Reserve is set to start shrinking its $8.9 trillion balance sheet Wednesday
* The Fed releases its Beige Book report on regional economic conditions Wednesday
* New York Fed President John Williams, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speak at separate events Wednesday
* OPEC+ virtual meeting Wednesday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester discusses the economic outlook Thursday
* US May employment report Friday
* The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization releases its monthly food price index at a time of maximum concern about global supplies on Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.6% as of 4:05 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0735
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2604
* The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 128.69 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 12 basis points to 2.85%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 1.12%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 2.10%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $114.94 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1% to $1,839.10 an ounce
–With assistance from John Viljoen and Andreea Papuc.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal.  My strength lies solely in my tenacity. –Louis Pasteur, 1822-1895.

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