May 6, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 6,1527~ Sack of Rome
1955~West Germany joins NATO
Sigmund Freud, founder of Psychoanalysis, b. 1856
Rabindranath Tagore, poet, b.1961
Orson Welles, actor/director, b.1915
George Clooney, actor, b.1961

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Go to article »

Lost and Found: His ship vanished 176 years ago. DNA offered his descendants a clue.

Mediterranean diet may prevent memory loss and dementia, study finds
Stock up on that salmon and broccoli!

A Japanese town spent some of its Covid-19 relief money to build a statue of a giant squid
Is it a cool statue? Yes. Is it what the government intended when it handed out funds during a devastating pandemic? … Probably not. 

Bill Gates transferred nearly $2.4 billion worth of stock to Melinda Gates amid their divorce. Stakes in a Coca-Cola bottler, a Mexican broadcaster and other companies were transferred as two of the world’s richest people began dividing their wealth after filing for divorce.

New clouds just dropped.

Culinary geniuses create flat pasta that turns into shapes when boiled.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A rainbow shines over Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia
CREDIT: SAEED KHAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A huge pod of dolphins indulges in a feeding frenzy off the shores of Fish Hoek, South Africa, filmed from a local fishing boat, The Wizard
CREDIT:KADE TAME / SWNS.COM

A Zula man clears the way for the hearse in front of the morgue in Johannesburg, South Africa
CREDIT: LUCA SOLA/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Viktoria Mullova during filming for one of a series of short films which will form a ‘visual album’ at the newly renovated Raphael Court at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The collaboration between Apple, Marquee TV and the V&A, is being spearheaded by conductor Oliver Zeffman
CREDIT: IAN WEST/PA

Market Closes for May 6^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1870, Amadeo 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 and lent David Selznick the money to finish filming “Gone With the Wind.” Today, as Bank of America, it is one of the world’s biggest financial-services firms.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities closed lower Thursday amid a wave of corporate earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1%. Materials were a bright spot, while cannabis and tech retreated. Spot iron ore broke $200 a ton for the first time, while copper approached a record high as Chinese investors unleashed fresh demand following a three-day holiday.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $13.15 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.6% to $1,815 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.8% to C$1.2165 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield edged lower to 1.512%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1 percent at 19,290.98 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6 percent. Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 7 of 11 sectors lost; 102 of 229 shares fell, while 125 rose. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8 percent. Tilray Inc. had the largest drop, falling 11.3 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1 percent
* The index advanced 30 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 49 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.8 percent below its 52-week high on April 29, 2021 and 36 percent above its low on May 14, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.3 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$3.02t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.71 percent compared with 8.68 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.15 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -46.6460| -2.6| 2/9
* Industrials | -12.4938| -0.5| 9/21
* Health Care | -12.4869| -4.8| 2/8
* Utilities | -4.4248| -0.5| 6/10
* Energy | -1.0875| 0.0| 12/10
* Consumer Discretionary | -0.4702| -0.1| 6/7
* Consumer Staples | -0.3372| 0.0| 7/6
* Real Estate | 0.8533| 0.1| 20/6
* Communication Services | 1.8254| 0.2| 3/4
* Financials | 9.6636| 0.2| 18/9
* Materials | 45.8413| 1.9| 40/12

US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed as data showing the world’s largest economy is strengthening overshadowed inflation worries, with investors awaiting Friday’s jobs report. The dollar retreated. The S&P 500 closed near session highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record. China’s shares traded in New York briefly extended losses after Bloomberg News reported the Biden administration is likely to preserve limits on U.S. investments in certain companies from the Asian nation. After the close of regular trading, Peloton Interactive Inc. reported revenue that topped estimates. Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell last week to a fresh pandemic low as labor market conditions continued to improve and the economy reopened more broadly. Separate data highlighted a rebound in productivity as the pace of output exceeded a pickup in hours worked.
Economists predict the upcoming employment report will show the U.S. added about 1 million jobs in April. “With jobless claims hitting a pandemic-era low, anticipation for the full jobs picture tomorrow mounts,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “Today’s read is another proof point that we’re one step closer to full economic recovery. As we see some serious momentum building on the jobs front, all eyes will be on how this plays into action taken by the Fed.” A rising appetite for risk across a variety of asset markets is stretching valuations and creating vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system, the Federal Reserve said in its semi-annual financial stability report. In this environment, prices may be vulnerable to “significant declines” should risk appetite fall, the Fed report noted. After closing at a fresh high on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Transportation Average — considered a barometer of economy activity — surged 25% above its 200-day moving average. The move could be “perceived as indicative of strength likely to continue in the broader equity market,” said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Gina Martin Adams.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.2062
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3893
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 109.07 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.57%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.79%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $65 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1.7% to $1,815 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Emily Barrett, Yakob Peterseil, Claire Ballentine, Kamaron Leach and Nancy Moran.
Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It is said an eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence,
to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. 
They presented him the words: And this, too, shall pass away. -Abraham  Lincoln, 1809-1865.

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