October 11, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Oct. 11, 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard.  Go to article >>.
1975: Saturday Night Live premieres.
Eleanor Roosevelt, b.1884.
October 11, 1994: Nobel Prize in Economics is awarded to John Harsanyi, John Nash and Reinhard Selten for their “pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games.”

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are returning to the big screen together:
Following the staggering success of the “Barbie” movie, the two stars are now preparing to be the leads of the upcoming “Ocean’s Eleven” prequel.

24 ancient earthworks have been detected in the Amazon:
These ditches, paths and wells were shaped by indigenous peoples who lived in the Amazon area around 500 to 1,500 years ago. Scientists say thousands more may still be waiting to be discovered.

See Burger King’s new restaurant design:
The burger chain officially unveiled a new restaurant design called “Sizzle.” What do you think about the company’s new décor?

Zealandia, Earth’s hidden continent, was torn from supercontinent Gondwana in flood of fire 100 million years ago
Scientists have fully mapped the lost continent of Zealandia in a world first, discovering new details about how it broke away from the supercontinent Gondwana through the ignition of a huge volcanic region tens of millions of years ago.  Read More.

Where to buy solar eclipse glasses before the Oct. 14 ‘ring of fire’ eclipse
It’s not too late to buy safe, high-quality eclipse glasses before the Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse in North America. Just make sure you’re buying from an approved vendor. Read More.

Scientists find 10 ‘markers’ in blood that predict people’s chances of reaching 100
A recent study pinpoints measurable differences in the blood of people who survived to age 100 and those who died younger. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fort Worth, US
Cowboys drive a herd of Texas longhorns down East Exchange Avenue during a daily event dating back to 1866.  Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Durham, UK
An art installation called Science by Luxmuralis on display inside Durham Cathedral.  Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters.

​​​​​​​Last breath of autumn by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece.
Agorastos Papatsanis reveals the magic of a fungus releasing its spores in the forest. Long-fascinated by fungi, Agorastos used his silver photographic umbrella to stop his camera getting wet, and covered his flash with a plastic bag. The colourful touches come from refraction of the light passing through the spore-laden air currents and rain. Parasol mushrooms release spores from the gills under their cap. Billions of tiny spores travel – usually unseen – in the air currents. Some will land where there is moisture and food, enabling them to grow networks under the forest floor. Location: Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece.
Photograph: Agorastos Papatsanis/2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Market Closes for October 11^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1817: The New York Stock Exchange banned negotiated fees, compelling members to charge investors fixed commission rates.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.8%, or 162.64 to 19,663.84 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Sept. 25.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.6%.
Spin Master Corp. had the largest increase, rising 6.0%.
Today, 158 of 227 shares rose, while 65 fell; 10 of 11
sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 1.4%, heading for the best year since 2021
* The index advanced 7.9% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 10% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.4% in the past 5 days and fell 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.8 on a trailing basis and 14 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.09t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.25% compared with 14.61% in the previous session and the average of 13.19% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 70.9080| 1.2| 24/4
Materials | 17.2234| 0.8| 35/16
Utilities | 14.0505| 1.8| 15/0
Industrials | 13.2264| 0.5| 16/10
Energy | 11.1044| 0.3| 20/18
Communication Services | 10.2895| 1.4| 5/0
Consumer Staples | 10.2123| 1.2| 8/3
Consumer Discretionary | 9.5283| 1.3| 11/3
Real Estate | 6.4663| 1.4| 17/3
Information Technology | 0.8101| 0.1| 6/5
Health Care | -1.1771| -2.0| 1/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | 16.0700| 3.6|n/a | 6.4
TD Bank | 11.5500| 1.1|n/a | -7.1
Couche-Tard | 8.8200| 2.3|n/a | 24.9
Cameco | -2.0590| -1.3|n/a | 64.9
Nutrien | -5.3560| -1.8|n/a | -16.5
Shopify | -9.0240| -1.4|n/a | 56.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks extended their rebound from oversold levels as traders shrugged off a hotter-than-estimated inflation reading to focus on less hawkish comments from Federal Reserve speakers.
Oil fell after an early-week surge.
The S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight session.
Mega-caps outperformed, with Nvidia Corp. climbing over 2%.
Exxon Mobil Corp. led losses in energy shares after agreeing to buy Pioneer Natural Resources Co.
German sandal maker Birkenstock Holding Plc slumped in its US debut.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped eight basis points to 4.57%.
The dollar saw its longest losing streak since March.
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the central bank doesn’t need to keep tightening unless inflation’s descent starts to stall.
Meantime, Governor Christopher Waller noted the Fed can “watch and see” what happens before taking further action with rates as financial markets tighten.
To Krishna Guha at Evercore, Waller’s remarks confirm “a lot has changed” since the Fed’s September gathering, when officials “were not at all focused on the surge in bond yields that had taken place by the time of that meeting.”
Central bank officials agreed last month that US policy should remain restrictive for “some time” to keep cooling down inflation — while noting risks had become more balanced, according to the latest Fed minutes.
“The Fed is near the end of their rate hiking campaign and the events of the past weekend likely solidify this view,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. “The risk of overtightening appears to be in balance with the risk of insufficient tightening.”
Traders are now awaiting Thursday’s consumer price index, which will come out after data showed a measure of producer prices rose by more than forecast in September amid higher energy costs.
“Tomorrow’s CPI could paint a different picture, but today’s PPI suggests we haven’t seen the end of sticky inflation — and high interest rates,” said Mike Loewengart, head of model portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office. “Either way, investors will need to remain patient.  Lowering inflation significantly from last year’s highs was one challenge, getting it down to the Fed’s 2% target level is another.”
Wall Street analysts are boosting US earnings forecasts even before results start rolling in, signaling the worst of the profit slump is likely over as ebbing inflation eases the pressure on a broad swath of industries.
That’s pushed an indicator known as earnings-revision momentum — a gauge of upward-to-downward changes to expected per-share earnings over the next 12 months — to roughly positive territory and well over its November 2022 low of negative 70%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
It’s the most positive reading ahead of an earnings season since the first quarter of 2022, with forecasts recently only getting marked up after executives deliver the latest guidance.
Bank of America Corp. strategists predict US companies will deliver financial results that substantially beat analyst expectations, prompting a boost to their 2023 earnings estimate as a recovery gets underway this reporting season.
The expectation is for a “sizable” beat, strategists including Ohsung Kwon and Savita Subramanian wrote.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. will kick off the earnings season Friday, with the biggest US banks poised to write off more bad loans than they have since the early days of the pandemic as higher-for-longer interest rates and a potential economic downturn put borrowers in a bind.
Key events this week:
* Japan machinery orders, PPI, Thursday
* Bank of Japan’s Asahi Noguchi speaks, Thursday
* UK industrial production, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, CPI, Thursday
* European Central Bank publishes account of September policy meeting, Thursday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic speaks, Thursday
* China CPI, PPI, trade, Friday
* Eurozone industrial production, Friday
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BlackRock results as the quarterly earnings season kicks off, Friday
* G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet as part of IMF gathering, Friday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speak on IMF panel, Friday
* Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0613
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2309
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 149.21 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $26,760.29
* Ether rose 0.2% to $1,563.01
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 4.57%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.72%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 10 basis points to 4.33%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.3% to $83.99 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,887.10 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself. -George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.

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