May 6, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1527 – Sack of Rome
Sigmund Freud, b. 1856.
Orson Wells, b. 1915.
George Clooney, b. 1961.

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 of the 97 people on board.  Go to article »
1941 – Joseph Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, replacing his foreign minister Vyacheskav Molotov.

Astronomers have spotted one of the rarest and most-sought creatures in the cosmic story: an intermediate-mass black hole.
The word “intermediate” is a bit of a misnomer. This black hole is thousands or hundreds of thousands of times more massive than the sun. It’s just smaller than the better-known supermassive black holes, which weigh in at millions of billions of solar masses.
The discovery sheds light on how the universe was assembled in the dark.-The New York Times.

NASA is working with Tom Cruise to shoot a movie … in SPACE Mission: Intercosmic -CNN.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Dawn over the beach huts at Blyth, Northumberland, UK.
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

Artist Lionel Stanhope paints a mural in Ladywell depicting the Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio with added protective gloves, London.
CREDIT: REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY

A boy wearing a protective face mask touches a wall of graffiti outside the New York Aquarium, Brooklyn.
CREDIT: REUTERS /SHANNON STAPLETON

A gentoo penguin swims in an enclosure at the Ocean Park theme park, which is currently closed due to the COVID-19, in Hong Kong.
CREDIT: RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP

Market Closes for May 6^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1870, Amedeo Peter Giannini was born in San Jose, Calif. In San Francisco in 1904 he founded the Bank of Italy to serve the city’s burgeoning working class. It later financed the Golden Gate Bridge in the depths of the Depression and loaned David Selznick the money he needed to finish filming Gone With The Wind. Today, as Bank of America, it’s one of the world’s biggest financial-services firms.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.1 percent, or 19.18 to 14,830.74 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.9 percent. Real Matters Inc. had the largest increase, rising 22.7 percent. Today, 91 of 230 shares rose, while 132 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index declined 10 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 4.1 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 17.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 32.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 9.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.4 on a trailing basis and 19.9 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 37.17 percent compared with 39.03 percent in the previous session and the average of 73.69 percent over the past month
=========================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
=========================================================
Information Technology | 58.3283| 4.6| 8/0
Industrials | 10.7317| 0.6| 16/14
Financials | 6.2859| 0.1| 12/14
Consumer Discretionary | 2.6113| 0.5| 8/7
Consumer Staples | 1.9278| 0.3| 5/5
Communication Services | 1.5816| 0.2| 3/5
Health Care | 0.3571| 0.2| 3/6
Real Estate | -0.6405| -0.1| 10/16
Utilities | -2.4329| -0.3| 7/9
Energy | -17.6675| -0.9| 4/26
Materials | -41.9036| -1.9| 15/30
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the first time in three days as investors digested mixed corporate earnings and worsening economic data. The dollar strengthened the most in about three weeks and Treasury yields increased. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes closed lower, while information technology and consumer discretionary sectors kept the Nasdaq Composite in the green as investors continued to bet Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will perform well in the stay-at-home world. A report showed U.S. companies cut a record 20.2 million jobs in April. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped. “This pandemic has systemically changed the way we live and work,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “If these job losses end up being permanent, that’s a horse of a different color due to the negative effect it will have on spending and the economy.” After the close of regular trading, Lyft Inc. reported moderate growth of the ride-hailing business in a quarter marred by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
     Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose the most in a week with the U.S. increasing the amount of debt it plans to issue in quarterly refunding auctions to a record high of $96 billion to provide government funding as the economy heads into a recession. Bonds declined in the euro region as investors fretted over Tuesday’s German court ruling criticizing the European Central Bank’s easing measures. The euro weakened amid a slew of bleak economic forecasts by the European Union, heading toward its lowest close since mid-March, back when markets were roiled by demand for the U.S. currency. West Texas oil retreated after a rally that had doubled prices in the past five days. President Donald Trump said Tuesday Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death.
     Meanwhile, data from Germany provided further evidence of the pandemic’s devastating effect, as new cases in the euro area’s biggest economy rose ahead of talks on easing restrictions. Traders may have seen a glimmer of hope in earnings from drug makers and online grocers, though insurers, banks and carmakers added to the chorus of companies taking a heavy hit. “One thing is for sure is that this pandemic health crisis has produced depression-magnitude job losses which means this recovery is going to take longer than many are thinking,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist for MUFG Union Bank. Elsewhere, shares in Shanghai rose as Chinese traders came back online after a five-day break. Australian equities fell, while Hong Kong and Korean benchmarks advanced. Japanese markets were shut for a public holiday. Here are some key events coming up:
* The Bank of England has a policy decision on Thursday.
* Friday brings the U.S. jobs report for April, expected to show a severe impact from the pandemic. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists calls for a 21 million plunge in payrolls.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index fell 0.7% to 2,848.42 as of 4:20 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.9% to 23,664.64, the lowest in more than a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% to 8,854.39.
The MSCI All-Country World Index dipped 0.4% to 478.02.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.6% to 1,256.64, the highest in more than a week on the largest increase in almost three weeks.
The Japanese yen appreciated 0.4% to 106.10 per dollar, the strongest in seven weeks on the biggest increase in almost three weeks.
The euro dipped 0.4% to $1.0793, the weakest in more than a week.
The British pound dipped 0.8% to $1.2341, the weakest in more than a week on the biggest decrease in almost two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.18%, the lowest in more than eight years on the largest dip in almost three weeks. The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 0.70%, the highest in almost three weeks on the biggest advance in a week. Germany’s 10-year yield climbed seven basis points to -0.51%, the largest surge in almost four weeks. Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 0.231%, the biggest rise in more than a week.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $24.14 a barrel, the first retreat in more than a week. Gold weakened 0.9% to $1,687.16 an ounce.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
               -Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

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