November 2, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, Mexico.
                 All Souls Day, Roman Catholic.

Day of the Dead by Nancy Poer:
Marigolds splash orange on homemade shrines.  Cemeteries glow at night with luminaria and lively visiting families. Tantalizing aromas of food prepared for the Mexican Day of the Dead rise up to entice the living and those in spirit.  Street vendors hawk grinning candy skeletons playing guitars or driving low-rider cars.
  Most of us believe that the spirit lives on after death, but we don’t do much about it. But celebrating the dead is good medicine for the soul, filling that space with family, remembrance, place, community, and continuity.
  For all those same good reasons, more people are caring for their own at death.  Those who do this consider it a natural transition, and claim their right to bathe and dress a loved one, to build the casket, or hold a blessing vigil at home.  Such loving care and funeral ritual (it is legal), brings completion and deep connectedness at life’s greatest threshold.
  But what if our loved ones die suddenly or far away?  Can we still connect?  It is time to know again what the ancients knew – the spirit lives on.  Love never dies.  When we are able to create an opening in our grief, the dead can be there.  Read to them.  Speak to them.  Imagine your loved ones being able to hear you and respond.  Ask them a question when you go to sleep and listen for their insights, inspirations, and ideas on awakening.   Let us give them a place in our hearts, often, maybe daily.  Light a candle.  Say a prayer.  Smell the flowers and send the fragrant joy to them.  Remember the good times and drink a full cup of gratitude for all the inspiration and love the departed poured into our lives.

A look back at Sean Connery’s unforgettable roles. The dashing actor’s work went way beyond Bond.-CNN.

1947 – Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose, on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California. Go to article »

Twenty years ago today, three astronauts stepped aboard the International Space Station.  Once derided as a poster child for government waste, the I.S.S. is now seen as a linchpin for future economic activity in space.  From Chris Hadfield’s performance of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” to the invention of the first zero-gravity coffee cup, the orbiting outpost has hosted its share of defining moments as well as hundreds of residents from many countries.  Our Science writers take you through the space station’s first 20 years and offer you a visual tour of humanity’s high-tech home in the sky.-NYTimes

140,000: That’s roughly how many gas stations there are in the US, and more than half of them are selling gas for less than $2 a gallon right now. It’s all due to plummeting oil prices and less demand. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Saru Shrestha, 36, picks marigold flowers from a field onto a traditional basket to sell in the markets ahead of the Tihar festival on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal.
CREDIT: SKANDA GAUTAM/ZUMA WIRE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A woman carries her baby as she places fishes for sale at a market in Abobo neighborhood, in the suburbs of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/LEO CORREA

The church in Kenmore, Perthshire is surrounded by trees displaying their autumn colours.
CREDIT: LESLEY MARTIN

Market Closes for November 2^nd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1920, the first widespread commercial radio broadcast hit the air as station KDKA in Pittsburgh sent out bulletins on the presidential election to an audience of hundreds of ham radio operators. The broadcast was made by Leo Rosenberg, speaking through a retooled telephone mouthpiece from a wooden shack on the roof of a Westinghouse factory. His first words were: “We shall now broadcast the election returns.”

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities advanced Monday asmarijuana shares gained on the prospect of Democrats winning in Tuesday’s U.S. elections, ushering in a new era for pot legislation. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.8% as pot producers including Aurora Cannabis and Cronos Group Inc. gained over 10%. Nine of eleven sectors rose. Joe Biden’s favorable odds have also been helping clean energy stocks in recent months. However, if the former vice president does win, there could be some pullback right after the election, Jefferies said. Oil rose the most in more than three weeks as Russian producers met with Energy Minister Alexander Novak to discuss the possibility of delaying an easing of OPEC+ output cuts by three months. Ontario’s online gaming industry is anticipating the provincial government will move ahead soon with regulatory changes to allow private operators into the market.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.40 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose +0.9% to $1,895.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.7% to C$1.3230 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.7 basis points to 0.635%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7 percent at 15,696.87 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.2 percent on Oct. 7 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.6 percent. Today, industrials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 177 of 223 shares rose, while 45 fell. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5 percent. Aurora Cannabis Inc. had the largest increase, rising 16.2 percent.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 8 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 5.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 12.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 40.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and fell 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25 on a trailing basis and 22.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.39t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.27 percent compared with 15.53 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.90 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | 44.0260| 2.3| 26/2
Materials | 34.0852| 1.4| 45/6
Financials | 26.8916| 0.6| 21/5
Utilities | 10.9525| 1.3| 16/0
Health Care | 9.6862| 6.0| 7/3
Consumer Staples | 7.7868| 1.2| 9/2
Real Estate | 3.9814| 0.8| 24/3
Energy | 2.2145| 0.1| 16/7
Consumer Discretionary | 0.1508| 0.0| 8/5
Communication Services | -2.1505| -0.3| 2/5
Information Technology | -21.3806| -1.4| 3/7

US
By Sarah Ponczek and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst week since March as investors bet on the energy, materials and industrial sectors ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election. Crude oil rose the most in more than three weeks. Dip buyers helped the benchmark S&P 500 finish up 1.2%, though it closed down from the highs of the day. It slumped 5.6% last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged behind, weighted down by Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. as investors rotated from so-called work-from-home stocks and into sectors that would benefit from more stimulus. “There’s a lot of general positioning before this event, investors are a little bit jittery,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. “You layer in a few of the other uncertainties — it’s still the Covid situation, with things going on in Europe and parts of the U.S. in the Midwest, investors were reminded that the uncertainty in that situation can still dominate markets.” With one day before the American presidential election, volatility returned, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index, or fear gauge, remaining elevated. Polls continue to show Democrat Joe Biden ahead, though battleground states remain tight. The U.S. reported a slight slowdown in virus cases over the weekend, but several states continued to notch record numbers of infections. Once the U.S. election passes, investors will contend with the Federal Reserve delivering a policy decision Thursday before the October jobs report Friday. Earnings will continue to roll in, with PayPal Holdings Inc., Expedia Group Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. among the firms reporting.
Oil clawed back earlier losses amid signals that Russia, a key OPEC ally, is in talks to possibly postpone the group’s planned output hike in January. Russia, which depends on crude as a key export, saw the ruble weaken to the lowest level since March against the dollar. Virus developments are also front and center, with daily cases continuing to surge in many parts of the world. The U.K.’s prime minister ordered England into a four-week partial lockdown, all but shuttering the economy, while other European countries prepared to increase restrictions. “Going into an election, there’s always, always jitters, there’s volatility,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “But we have the question mark regarding the surge of the coronavirus. And the question is, how much does it jeopardize the recovery?” In other markets, gold advanced while the yield on 10-year Treasuries declined. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index gained for a fourth day.
These are some key events coming up:
* Earnings are due from companies including Nintendo Co., Macquarie Group Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc.
* U.S. Presidential election on Tuesday.
* EIA crude oil inventory report on Wednesday.
* Fed policy decision on Thursday.
* The U.S. labor market report is due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets worldwide:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.2% to 3,310.23 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the largest increase in three weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6% to 26,924.66, the biggest surge in almost four weeks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4% to 10,957.61.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 1.6% to 347.86, the biggest jump in five weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index surged 1.3% to 557.96, the largest jump in four weeks.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% to 1,173.18, the highest in almost four weeks.
The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.1639, hitting the weakest in more than five weeks with its sixth consecutive decline.
The British pound declined 0.2% to $1.2918, the weakest in more than two weeks.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 104.81 per dollar, the weakest in a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 0.85%.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.63%.
Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.64%, the lowest in almost eight months.
Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.64%, the lowest in almost eight months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude surged 3.5% to $37.05 a barrel, the biggest jump in almost four weeks.
Copper rose 1.3% to $3.09 a pound, the largest rise in more than a week.
Gold strengthened 0.9% to $1,895.31 an ounce, the biggest rise in more than a week.
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach and Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard, are sweeter.
                                               -John Keats, 1795-1821

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