May 7, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Elon Musk is hosting SNL tomorrow night.

May 7, 1824: Premiere of Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composer, b. 1840
Eva Peron, Argentina’s “Evita”, b. 1919
Gary Cooper, actor, b. 1901

On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II.  Go to article »

“And finally, Mother’s Day is this weekend, according to six voicemails from your mother.” — SETH MEYERS

“You know, there’s a limited supply of flowers this year. Because of Covid, here in California, a lot of growers switched to growing pot. Not a joke. We don’t have any flowers. But the good news is, Mom is really going to enjoy brunch this year.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers out there. Carolann  xo
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bluebells are lit by the sunrise at Dockey Wood near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire
CREDIT: MATTHEW CHILDS/REUTERS

This Battle of Waterloo model is made entirely from Playmobil by the French artists Laurent Lafont and Bob Borriello, displayed during the ‘The Empire in Playmobil’ exhibition at the Wellington Museum in Waterloo, Belgium
CREDIT: STEPHANIE LECOCQ/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Wei Fu was highly commended in the  International Garden Photographer of the Year competition for this frame of  two ants about pull apart a wasp; their sunlit evening meal
CREDIT:WEI FU/IGPOTY/TRIANGLE NEWS

Market Closes for May 7^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1946, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka co-founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, or Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, to “bring radio communications and similar devices into common households and to promote the use of home electric appliances.” They later renamed their company Sony.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities gained this week after a strong showing from materials shares. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.9% Friday to a record, with health care leading all eleven sectors higher. North American lumber companies plan to ramp up production by expanding existing mills as strong home construction fuels the need for more wood. Canada shed 207,100 jobs last month, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa, partially erasing large gains over the previous two months. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted a drop of 150,000.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $13.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $1,832.26 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2137 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 2.2 basis points to 1.492%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite is rising 0.8 percent at 19,453.73 in Toronto. In midday trading, materials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 177 of 229 shares rose, while 51 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2 percent. Tilray Inc. had the largest increase, rising 18.3 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.8 percent, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended March 12
* The index advanced 31 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 percent below its 52-week high on May 7, 2021 and 37.1 percent above its low on May 14, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.2 on a trailing basis and 17.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 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 8.89 percent compared with 8.71 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.02 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | 35.3588| 1.4| 38/14
* Information Technology | 23.1823| 1.3| 7/4
* Industrials | 22.4586| 1.0| 22/8
* Financials | 21.4520| 0.4| 22/5
* Health Care | 13.7314| 5.6| 9/1
* Energy | 12.4752| 0.5| 15/7
* Consumer Discretionary | 11.3645| 1.4| 11/2
* Real Estate | 7.1557| 1.2| 23/3
* Communication Services | 5.9635| 0.6| 8/0
* Utilities | 5.8246| 0.7| 14/2
* Consumer Staples | 3.3699| 0.5| 8/5

US
By Rita Nazareth and Anchalee Worrachate
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed to a record after surprisingly weak jobs data eased fears about higher inflation and a cutback in stimulus. The dollar slumped, while Treasuries were little changed. All major groups in the S&P 500 rose, with energy, real-estate and industrial shares leading the charge. Earlier in the day, technology led equity gains as softer economic data drove investors into the perceived safety of pandemic darlings — mega caps flush with cash and stay-at-home stocks. A gauge of giant growth companies such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. pared most of its advance. The long-awaited employment data rattled markets, with payrolls up only 266,000 in April, trailing the projected 1 million surge.
For several analysts, the figures may give a boost to President Joe Biden’s $6 trillion economic agenda and another reason for the Federal Reserve to keep its accommodative stance. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the report “underscores the long-haul climb back to recovery,” while retaining her expectation of a return to full employment next year. “Today’s report suggests that the jobs recovery may not be quite as rapid as many had expected,” said Mike Bell, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “If this slower pace of job gains persists, then the Fed is likely to start raising rates later than markets had been expecting. While less good for the economy than a booming labor market, a ‘Goldilocks’ jobs recovery that is neither too hot nor too cold could continue to support equity markets.” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari told Bloomberg Television he has “zero sympathy” for critics on Wall Street, who slam the central bank’s aggressive support of the U.S. economy while millions of Americans remain out of work. “We need to rebuild this labor market and put them back to work. Then there will be plenty of time to normalize monetary policy,” he said.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7%
* The euro rose 0.8% to $1.2167
* The British pound rose 0.8% to $1.4002
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 108.60 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.57%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.22%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.77%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $65 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1% to $1,833 an ounce
–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Joanna Ossinger, Yakob Peterseil, Claire Ballentine, Vildana Hajric, Sophie Caronello and Nancy Moran.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Live out of your imagination, not your history. –Stephen Covey, 1932-2012

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