May 8, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.
May 8, 1945 -V-E DAY: World War ll ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender.
VE Day in pictures -from The Financial Times.

Our interactive takes you back to V-E Day. –The NY Times.

1970 – The album “Let It Be” by the Beatles was released. Go to article »

Diversions: Take a walk through nature with our photographers, or tour the Brooklyn Bridge with our architecture critic. -from The New York Times.

And if laughter is indeed the best medicine, five new comedy specials can remind you of the old normal. The featured comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, developed much of their material before the quarantine. Their bits can lighten your mood in unexpected ways, our comedy critic writes. –The New York Times.

If you’re looking for a movie to watch with Mom this weekend, these unorthodox matriarchs may be just what we need right now.-The New York Times.
Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mothers reading this.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Katherine Jenkins performs during a behind-closed-doors concert commemorating VE Day at Royal Albert Hall on May 07, 2020 in London, England. Friday 8 May 2020 marks 75 years since Victory in Europe (VE) day, the end of the Second World War in Europe. The performance can be watched from 18:00 BST on Friday 8 May 2020 on the Royal Albert Halls YouTube channel.
CREDIT: GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY IMAGES FOR ABA

A colourful sky at sunrise over the quay in Appledore, soon gives way to showers on the River Torridge estuary in North Devon, UK, as a moderate breeze and showers.
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH PICTURES OF THE DAY

A worker stands in clear, shallow waters as he attempts to catch mussels. Using a bamboo stick to filter the sand they then place the shellfish in a small plastic bucket. The beautiful images were captured in Quang Ngai, Vietnam on the Tra River.
CREDIT: TRUNG ANH.SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

The full moon captured behind farm animals in the Lake District. Snapper Linda Davison captured the image at Cold Fell on Cumbria, UK, as the moon rose behind sheep and lambs in a nearby field.
CREDIT: LINDA DAVIDSON/TRIANGE NEWS

Market Closes for May 8^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note slid to a record low of 0.129% Thursday, reflecting expectations for interest rates to stay near or even fall below zero moving forward.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed for fifth day, led by consumer discretionary and real estate sector. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.9% in Toronto, for a weekly gain of 2.4%, the longest weekly gain since March 1, 2019. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index advance, increasing 1.4%. BRP Inc had the largest gain, rising 16%. Toronto-Dominion Bank said it expects to record about C$1.1 billion ($800 million) in loan-loss provisions for its U.S. retail division in its fiscal second quarter, the result of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact. Meanwhile, Canada lost 2 million jobs in April as a result of pandemic-related shutdowns, by far the biggest decline on record but only about half what economists had expected.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $3.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate.
* Spot gold fell 0.6% to $1,706.25 an ounce.
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3927 per U.S. dollar.
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 5.7 basis points to 0.581%.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.9 percent, or 132.87 to 14,966.56 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 2.9 percent on April 29. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4 percent. BRP Inc. had the largest increase, rising 16.5 percent. Today, 164 of 229 shares rose, while 62 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.4 percent
* The index declined 8.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 0.4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 16.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 34 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.9 on a trailing basis and 20.6 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$2.24t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 32.62 percent compared with 36.95 percent in the previous session and the average of 68.64 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 61.0519| 1.5| 23/3
Energy | 25.3988| 1.3| 25/5
Industrials | 14.0489| 0.8| 19/11
Consumer Discretionary | 13.7892| 2.8| 12/2
Consumer Staples | 8.8625| 1.4| 9/2
Utilities | 8.6030| 1.1| 14/2
Real Estate | 7.6496| 1.7| 23/2
Communication Services | 3.9442| 0.5| 6/2
Health Care | 0.6827| 0.5| 2/8
Materials | -1.9405| -0.1| 24/22
Information Technology | -9.2236| -0.7| 7/3
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks gained for a second day with investors embracing risk in spite of the biggest monthly loss in jobs in more than 70 years. Yields on Treasuries rose and the dollar weakened. Shares of energy, industrial and consumer staples companies helped the S&P 500 register its first weekly gain in three. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed for a fifth day, bringing this week’s gain to 6%. The latest jobs report showed a cut of 20.5 million workers in April, propelling the jobless rate to 14.7%. While that was the highest since the Great Depression, investors were anticipating the damage and speculating it will mark a low point during the pandemic-fueled economic slump. “There’s been a sense of optimism around the market that when we get back, things can return pretty well and this helps that optimism,” said JJ Kinahan, the chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.
Meanwhile, oil posted its first back-to-back weekly gain since February as output cuts from the biggest producers and a nascent recovery in demand began to rebalance a market awash with crude. Stocks remained higher even after President Donald Trump cast doubt on the future of his “phase one” trade deal with China, saying Friday that he’s struggling with Beijing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Building and travel stocks pulled the Euro Stoxx Index higher while U.K. markets were closed for a holiday. Japanese equities led a surge across Asia. Italian bonds climbed before a sovereign ratings decision.
Equities have so far managed to weather miserable economic data as well as a string of poor earnings reports as investors bet on a swift recovery, but the strong rebound in risk assets has left others questioning whether further gains are warranted. “There had been some concerns that unemployment would hit closer to 25%, so today’s data is in some ways a positive surprise,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist for Principal Global Investors. “Today’s data has been weighing on negative sentiment for several weeks, so just having it out of the way lifts a cloud.” Elsewhere, gold declined. Bitcoin briefly rose above $10,000 for the first time since late February.
These are some of the main market moves:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 1.6% to 2,929.80 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.8% to 24,331.32.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.5% to 9,121.32, hitting the highest in 10 weeks with its fifth consecutive advance.
The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 1.6% to 489.82.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,247.50.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 106.74 per dollar.
The euro was little changed at $1.0835.
The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2404.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 0.15%, the largest advance in three weeks.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 0.67%.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to -0.54%.
Britain’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 0.235%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 4.4% to $24.59 a barrel, the highest in more than two weeks.
Gold weakened 0.6% to $1,706.18 an ounce.
–With assistance from Katherine Greifeld.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
                                                                     -J.K. Rowling, b. 1965

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