May 5, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Cinco De Mayo
Mexican national recognizing the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla in 1862, in which Mexican troops under General Ignacio Zaragoza , outnumbered three to one, defeated invading French forces of
Napoleon III.  Anniversary is observed by Mexicans everywhere, with parades, festivals, dances and speeches.   
Portland, Oregon, sister city of Guadalajara, Mexico, celebrates Cinco de Mayo every year in Waterfront Park, with hundreds of thousands of people attending.

May 5, 1821 ~ Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St. Helena. Go to article »

Celebrate or cancel Napoleon? France can’t decide

The Late Night Hosts weigh in:
“They’ve already agreed to a custody arrangement. Bill gets to spend time with their money on Tuesday nights and every other weekend, and Melinda gets the rest.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“Remember what they say — when God closes a door, he opens a Windows 95.” — JIMMY FALLON

“You know, these two, they have a combined estimated worth of at least $134 billion. When you’re that rich, why do you even need to get divorced? Can’t they just live in separate wings?” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“But poor Bill Gates. He’s been sleeping in his jet. It’s very sad.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

French reenactors dressed as Imperial Army soldiers pose in front of the Napoleon’s tomb during a ceremony in homage to the French Emperor for the bicentenary of his death under the dome of Saint-Louis cathedral in the Invalides in Paris, France
CREDIT: CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

York university campus duck named Long Boi (left) who went viral due to his impressive stature. It is believed that the very large duck is a cross between a Mallard and an Indian Runner duck
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA

Wonderful wall of wisteria in Cambridge
CREDIT: GEOFF ROBINSON

Members of a senior cheer squad called Japan Pom Pom, laugh after posing for commemorative photos in Tokyo, Japan, 
CREDIT: KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

Market Closes for May 5^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1850, the National Bank of Belgium was founded as a public limited-liability company. Its shares are still publicly traded—making it one of the world’s only central banks you can own a piece of—but NBB’s stock has underperformed the Belgian market as a whole.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Wednesday amid a slew of corporate earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6%, with energy and materials leading. Teck Resources Ltd. gained 7.1% and Suncor Energy Inc. rose 3.6%. U.S. lumber futures extended their steep rally to fresh record highs, shooting above $1,500 as sawmills try to keep up with surging demand. On the vaccine front, Canada has become the first country to approve the use of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents as young as 12.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $13.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,786.63 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.2270 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield edged lower to 1.515%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 19,310.74 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent. Today, energy stocks led the market higher, as 6 of 11 sectors gained; 132 of 229 shares rose, while 93 fell. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1 percent. Ero Copper Corp. had the largest increase, rising 13.6 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 30 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 47 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7 percent below its 52-week high on April 29, 2021 and 36.1 percent above its low on May 14, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26 on a trailing basis and 17.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.68 percent compared with 8.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.30 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | 54.7697| 2.3| 21/2
* Financials | 45.8423| 0.8| 19/7
* Materials | 28.8334| 1.2| 35/16
* Industrials | 22.1943| 1.0| 19/11
* Consumer Staples | 5.8611| 0.9| 9/4
* Communication Services | 3.9480| 0.4| 5/3
* Consumer Discretionary | -0.3872| 0.0| 6/6
* Health Care | -0.9856| -0.4| 4/5
* Real Estate | -2.1017| -0.3| 7/19
* Utilities | -5.4815| -0.6| 4/12
* Information Technology | -29.7820| -1.6| 3/8

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks almost wiped out their gains as technology shares turned lower, offsetting optimism over solid corporate earnings and economic reports. Treasuries climbed. The S&P 500 notched an advance of less than 0.1% while the Nasdaq 100 ended in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a fresh record. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson retreated, while Pfizer finished little changed on news the U.S. will support a proposal to waive intellectual-property protections for Covid-19 shots. Peloton tumbled after recalling its treadmill products. Copper and lumber rallied, adding to inflation worries. As the world’s largest economy rebounds, an intense debate has emerged over whether actual price pressures are set to materialize.
The five-year breakeven rate — a proxy for the annual inflation rate bond traders expect over the span — jumped to the highest since 2008. Despite the increase in commodity prices and supply shortages, several Fed officials said Wednesday that inflation is unlikely to get out of control. Money managers who’ve spent the bulk of their careers profiting from deflationary trends need to quickly switch gears or risk an “inflation shock” to their portfolios, warned JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief global markets strategist Marko Kolanovic. “Given the still high unemployment, and a decade of inflation undershoot, central banks will likely tolerate higher inflation and see it as temporary,” he wrote. “The question that matters the most is if asset managers will make a significant change in allocations to express an increased probability of a more persistent inflation.”
Here are some key events to watch this week:
* Bank of England rate decision Thursday
* The April U.S. employment report is released on Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.2003
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3907
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 109.20 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.57%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.82%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $65 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,787 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Emily Barrett, Yakob Peterseil, Vildana Hajric, Claire Ballentine and Lu Wang.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -Annie Dillard, b. 1945.

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