November 25, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
I started reading a new book last night and in the introduction there is a quote from Ludwig Van Beethoven, referencing his feelings about his deafness.  It made me think that so many people must be feeling similar despair right now brought on by the isolation that this Pandemic has wrought.  So, I thought I’d share his words with you:

“For me there can be no relaxation with my  fellow men, no refined conversation, no mutual exchange of ideas.  I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished.  I can mix with society only as much as true necessity demands.  If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me, and I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed….
  But what a humiliation for me when someone standing next to me heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone standing next to me heard a shepherd singing and again I heard nothing.  Such incidents drove me almost to despair.” –Ludwig Van Beethoven.

On Nov. 25, 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels. Go to article »

Andrew Carnegie, financier, b. 1835.
Joe DiMaggio, baseball player, b. 1914.

An amateur astronomer may have found the source of the “Wow!” signal.

Does Monet beat the Dow? An investigation. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Puddles are for splashing in, not drinking: Archie, 2, from London splashing in the paddling pool in the V&A garden, where WaterAid laid 144 pairs of wellies to highlight the 144 million children, women and men worldwide who drink from surface water like ponds, lakes and even puddles. 
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Christmas trees are harvested at a plantation near Milnathort in Perth and Kinross.
CREDIT: IAIM MASTERTON / ALAMY LIVE NEWS

A Kashmir villager wrapped in woolen blanket walks on a snow covered road a day after the season’s first snowfall on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir
CREDIT: APPHOTO/MUKHTAR KHAN
Market Closes for November 25^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1835, Andrew Carnegie, future steel king, was born in Dunfermline, County Fife, Scotland. Carnegie came to the U.S. when he was 13 and went on to forge the steel industry that made America’s railroads, bridges and automobiles possible; he also established the public library system. In 1901 Carnegie became the world’s richest man, selling out to J.P. Morgan for $400 million; but by his death in 1919 he had given away $350 million.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets pared back earlier losses to end Wednesday’s session in the green.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2%, after falling as much 0.3% earlier in Toronto. Tech stocks were the best performers, led by Shopify and others. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary were the worst performing stocks. Among the miners, the Pebble mine in Alaska was dealt a potentially lethal blow after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected a permit for the project. Northern Dynasty Minerals tumbled about 50% in Toronto.
Elsewhere, Canadian entrepreneur Gary Ng has been accused by the country’s investment regulator of falsifying documents and creating fake brokerage accounts to secure the money to buy one of Vancouver’s oldest investment firms, PI Financial Corp.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at $1,806 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat C$1.2997 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.707%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 38.82 to 17,313.07 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.3 percent. Jamieson Wellness Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.0 percent.
Today, 133 of 222 shares rose, while 84 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 11 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This year, the index rose 1.5 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 6.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.65t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.40 percent compared with 15.40 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.20 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 45.5229| 2.8| 7/3
Materials | 26.2662| 1.2| 40/11
Utilities | 3.6399| 0.4| 10/6
Real Estate | 1.5998| 0.3| 16/10
Energy | 1.5872| 0.1| 9/13
Health Care | -0.3275| -0.2| 5/5
Consumer Staples | -1.1316| -0.2| 6/5
Communication Services | -1.1879| -0.1| 3/4
Industrials | -1.6671| -0.1| 20/7
Consumer Discretionary | -8.2015| -1.2| 7/5
Financials | -27.2526| -0.5| 10/15
US
By Yakob Peterseil and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — The rotation out of tech shares and into cyclicals, sparked by promising vaccine news, reversed Wednesday as investors cast a wary eye on a batch of data that suggest a possible slowdown in economic growth. Treasuries edged higher.
The S&P 500 Index retreated from an all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back below 30,000. The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes edged higher. Volume dwindled into the closing auction as traders headed out for the Thursday holiday that will keep markets closed. A deluge of data brought the first back-to-back rise in weekly U.S. jobless claims since July, an uptick in durable goods orders and a widening trade deficit. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting did little to alter views. The central bank discussed providing more guidance on its bond-buying strategy during the Nov. 4-5 policy meeting. Traders are also assessing the pandemic’s effect on the economy as cases continue to rise and more jurisdictions tighten restrictions.
“The market is caught between two powerful impulses — optimism for the post-pandemic world and fear because present reality is that the pandemic is exploding throughout the country,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, co-head of investments and portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, which has $44 billion in total client assets. “Markets could be choppy, but downside is likely limited by the vaccine.” Small caps slumped. The Russell 2000 is still up 20% in November, headed for the best month in its 41-year history. Gold was little changed, Bitcoin pulled back from near a record and the 10-year Treasury yield fell. The dollar weakened.
The mediocre economic data dimmed positive vaccine news and the formal start of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power — including the selection of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary — that had fueled optimism about the outlook for risk assets. At the same time, restrictions to curb surging coronavirus cases threaten to slow the world’s economic recovery. An MSCI gauge of global shares stalled on Wednesday after gaining 13% in November, still set for the best month since 1988.
“We remain on fragile footing heading into the winter as cases continue to climb globally,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “And since the markets are forward looking, this data will likely be taken in stride. The markets tend to cheer on certainty so the presidential transition and vaccine developments are two factors it’s latched onto lately.”
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged lower, as cyclicals such as mining and energy firms fell, offsetting advances in defensives including utility shares. ABN Amro Bank NV and Commerzbank AG dropped more than 3% and led euro-area lenders lower after the European Central Bank said the industry will probably have to set aside more money to soak up losses when government pandemic support ends.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Thursday sees a policy decision and briefing from the Bank of Korea.
* U.S. celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The stock market closes at 1 p.m. on Friday.
* The week ends with Black Friday, the traditional start of the U.S. holiday shopping season.

Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index slid 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%.
* The Dow average lost 0.6%
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.4%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1914.
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3378.
* The onshore yuan strengthened 0.3% to 6.574 per dollar.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.4 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.87%.
* The yield on two-year Treasuries was little changed at 0.16%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined to 0.318%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.021%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.6% to $45.62 a barrel.
* Brent crude gained 1.5% to $48.59 a barrel.
* Gold futures were flat at $1,810.70 an ounce.

–With assistance from Adam Haigh and David Wilson.
Have a great day.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.
                              -Ludwig Van Beethoven, 1770-1827

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com