November 6, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Gustavus Adolphus Day: Swedish king killed in 1632

1861 – James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, was born in Ontario, Canada.  Go to article »

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. -Jim Bishop.

In Greek mythology, autumn began when Persephone was abducted by Hades to be the Queen of the Underworld.  In distress Persephone’s mother, Demeter – the goddess of the harvest – caused all the crops on Earth to die until her daughter was allowed to return, marking spring.

We typically think of “fall” as the North American version of the word autumn, but it was in fact in widespread usage in England until relatively recently.  Originally a shortening of the phrase fall of the leaf, the phrase was common in England in the 17^th century.  The word autumn entered English from the French automne and didn’t become common usage until the 18^th century.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This is the hauntingly beautiful set of 200 life-size soldiers set up at the historic Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, UK, to mark Remembrance Sunday this year. The soldiers, made from recycled materials by a local artist, will be stood among 75 poppy wreaths in a display which will mark those who gave their lives in the two World Wars, when many displays and events had to be cancelled due to coronavirus.
CREDIT: PETE SEAWARD/HYDE NEWS & PICTURES LTD

A Blue tit is reflected at the edge of a garden pool looking for seeds hidden in the autumn leaf litter in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
CREDIT: PHILIP JONES/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

The International Space Station (ISS) moving in front of the sun by Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy. These are the clearest images ever taken of the International Space Station (ISS) moving in front of both the moon and the sun.
CREDIT: ANDREW MCCARTHY/SWNS.COM

Good morning Vietnam – fishermen on bamboo stilts try to make a catch with nets against a glorious sunrise. They are around ten kilometres from shore and use their hand-made nets, made with two longer bamboo sticks, to scoop up fish and shrimp from the shallow water. The stillness of the surface of the water gives it a serene, mirror-like appearance. 
CREDIT: NGUYEN THI QUY/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for November 6^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1851, Charles Henry Dow was born on his family’s farm in Sterling, Conn. After toiling as a reporter with the Springfield (Mass.) Daily Republican and the Providence (R.I.) Morning Star and Evening Press, he founded Dow, Jones & Co. in 1882 and devised the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities slipped Friday but posted their best week since April with cannabis and tech leading the gains. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1% Friday, though advanced 4.5% on the week. Marijuana shares including Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Cronos Group Inc. surged as Democrat Joe Biden took the lead in Pennsylvania, putting him on the cusp of victory in the presidential race. Oil pared its weekly gain as a resurgent pandemic raised the risk of further demand destruction, while the market awaits the outcome of a tightly contested U.S. election. Canadian lumber companies that pulled in record earnings are optimistic about next year despite lower wood prices, as they see the wave of home building and renovations continuing. Canada’s economy added 83,600 jobs in October, the fewest since the recovery began in May, as the country suffers through a second wave of coronavirus cases and fresh lockdowns.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.45 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,952.77 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.3057 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 3.3 basis points to 0.645%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 16,282.83 in Toronto, ending a 4-day gain. The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 1.9 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5 percent. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.5 percent. Today, 126 of 222 shares fell, while 93 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 4.5 percent, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended April 10
* This year, the index fell 4.6 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 2.8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 14 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.4 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.5 on a trailing basis and 22.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.5t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.13 percent compared with 15.36 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.90 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -50.4682| -3.0| 3/20
Financials | -8.4223| -0.2| 8/16
Consumer Discretionary | -1.3595| -0.2| 3/10
Real Estate | -1.0314| -0.2| 12/14
Materials | -0.4655| 0.0| 26/25
Communication Services | 1.1520| 0.1| 2/5
Consumer Staples | 4.8505| 0.7| 8/3
Industrials | 6.6249| 0.3| 11/17
Utilities | 7.4034| 0.9| 9/7
Health Care | 8.7670| 5.0| 4/6
Information Technology | 17.5959| 1.1| 7/3

US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks registered the biggest weekly increase since April with the labor market strengthening and Joe Biden on the verge of winning the presidential election. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.05% in the wake of a four-day rally added more than $1.5 trillion to the value of stocks. The benchmark index climbed 7.3% this week. Technology again outperformed, with the Nasdaq 100 finishing green on Friday and up 9.4% this week. Hiring outpaced expectations in October, defying calls for a slowdown in the economy as the virus continues to spread at a record pace.
Investors remain focused on the outcome of the presidential election, where Joe Biden is widely expected to win a tight race. Democrats appear to have only a long-shot chance at Senate control, stoking expectation that any aid package will be thin and Biden won’t be able to roll back President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. Without a massive spending bill, the Federal Reserve may increase its monetary support to keep the economic recovery on track. “Fiscal stimulus should be supportive even if it is less than expected, and we still expect a vaccine to become widely available by the second quarter of next year,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Yields jumped after a report showed the labor market improved in October by more than forecast. Ten-year note yields climbed back above 0.80% and the dollar lingered at a more than two-year low. Votes are still being tallied in the U.S., with Biden tightening his hold on the race by taking the lead over Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania.  The president, however, questioned the credibility of the election, raising the prospect of a long stalemate as he challenges the results. “Markets have risen under a variety of political regimes, but where it seems to do the best is a period of divided government in Washington when you have limited prospects for sweeping changes in legislation that would affect very legislative sensitive industries,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab Corp.
The U.S. became the first country to top 100,000 coronavirus infections in a single day. Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned this week that mounting infection rates are a risk to the recovery. Meanwhile, France warned of a “violent” second wave as it joined European countries including Italy and Poland in reporting new highs in daily infections. Elsewhere, crude oil declined for a second day and gold was little changed. “Given the big rally that we’ve had over a couple days, it’s going to have to take a pause at some point,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,509.44 as of 4:06 p.m.
New York time, the first retreat in a week.
The Nasdaq 100 Index increased 0.1% to 12,091.35, reaching the highest in more than two months on its fifth straight advance.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.2% to 366.40, the first retreat in more than a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.2% to 592.85, reaching the highest in more than two months on its fifth straight advance.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.3% to 1,149.91, the lowest in more than two years.
The Japanese yen appreciated 0.2% to 103.29 per dollar, the strongest in eight months.
The euro gained 0.5% to $1.1881, the strongest in more than two months.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped six basis points to 0.82%, the biggest surge in more than a month.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries climbed eight basis points to 1.60%, the largest surge in more than a month.
Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.62%.
Britain’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.274%, the highest in more than a week.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 3.6% to $37.40 a barrel, the biggest dip in more than a week.
Gold strengthened 0.1% to $1,952.39 an ounce, the highest in more than seven weeks.
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach and Casey Wagner.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
                                                                                 -Thomas A. Edison, 1847-1931      

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