October 23, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Departure of the swallows, Capistrano, California
1956 – Hungarian Revolution
1989 – Hungarian Independence

1981: US national debt hits $1 trillion.

On Oct. 23, 1983, a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon killed 220 U.S. Marines, 18 sailors and 3 Army soldiers; a near-simultaneous attack on
French forces killed 58 paratroopers. Go to article »

Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ returns to the charts, thanks to viral TikTok video.  It started with a guy drinking Ocean Spray and vibing on a skateboard, and now the whole world’s joined in. 
 
Guinness is making a non-alcoholic version of its iconic stout.  For when you want a full-bodied beer without the, er, full-body effects. 

 Fall’s vibrant, showy display has begun at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

“And Americans have a tough choice to make now: Do they vote for Joe Biden on Nov. 3? Or do they vote for him early, because the ultimate mute button is in your hands.” — STEPHEN COLBERT
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A kingfisher surrounded by crisp, red autumnal leaves in Hemel Hempstead, Herts. Captured by Liam Edwards.
CREDIT: SWNS.COM

Landscape photographer Andrew Turner captured this beautiful atmospheric shot of mist over the silhouetted peaks of the Austrian Alps from the window of a plane while on an early morning flight from Brighton to Cyprus
CREDIT: ANDREW TURNER/WENN

This is the incredible moment diver Gemma Care gets up close and personal with sharks in the English Channel to show how harmless some of the predators are. Gemma, 32, has swum with sharks all over the world but this is the first time she has spent time with them in ‘home waters.’ She spent two days interacting with blue sharks 20 miles off the Devon coast.
CREDIT: GEMMACARE/BNPS
Market Closes for October 23rd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1907, the Panic of 1907 deepened, as hundreds of nervous depositors besieged New York’s biggest trust companies, demanding their deposits back in cash after a crash in speculative copper stocks threatened the solvency of the trusts. J.P. Morgan, acting as the country’s unofficial central banker, loaned $3 million to the Trust Co. of America, helping to calm the panicky public.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell for a second straight week as traders prep for a slew of corporate earnings and U.S. election implications.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was relatively flat Friday, gaining 0.2%, though dropped 0.8% this week. Tech stocks outperformed while consumer discretionary and energy were among laggards.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is in “continual discussions” with airlines over aid for an industry buckling under the financial strain caused by Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Chorus Aviation Inc. rallied after the company received a preliminary, non-binding acquisition proposal from a third party. Alberta’s two-year experiment with OPEC-style crude production curbs is coming to an end after a Covid-driven collapse in demand led the Canadian province’s battered oil- sands industry to idle more output than required.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.40 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,903.11 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.02% to C$1.3137 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.7 basis points to 0.633%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 24.72 to 16,304.08 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.0 percent. Corus Entertainment Inc. had the largest increase, rising 9.8 percent.
Today, 104 of 223 shares rose, while 113 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8 percent
* This month, the index rose 1.1 percent
* This year, the index fell 4.5 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index was little changed in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.9 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25 on a trailing basis and 23.4 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 little changed to 12.93 percent compared with 12.94 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.96 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 28.0754| 0.6| 22/3
Information Technology | 20.0677| 1.2| 6/4
Industrials | 8.5282| 0.4| 17/10
Real Estate | 1.3962| 0.3| 20/7
Utilities | 1.0134| 0.1| 6/9
Consumer Staples | -0.5955| -0.1| 4/7
Communication Services | -0.6383| -0.1| 3/4
Health Care | -0.7953| -0.5| 3/6
Consumer Discretionary | -5.0903| -0.8| 5/8
Energy | -12.5374| -0.7| 4/18
Materials | -14.7133| -0.6| 14/37
US
By Todd White
(Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks rose after the Trump administration resuscitated hopes for a spending package.  Treasuries remained higher.
The S&P 500 edged higher to pare a weekly decline. It erased losses after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said he expects a deal in a day or so. Tech shares underperformed after Intel Inc. plunged more than 10%, dragging chipmakers lower. American Express Co. also faltered following earnings.
Gilead Sciences Inc. rose after its antiviral therapy become the first drug formally cleared to treat Covid-19. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 0.83%. Oil slipped below $40 a barrel in New York. Investors remain focused on Washington, where lawmakers are haggling over a financial spending bill to prop up the economy before the Nov. 3, though optimism that a deal will come at some point this year has helped drive Treasury rates higher in recent days. Concerns remain that rising virus cases will force additional business closures. The final presidential debate appeared to do little to alter the trajectory of a race that Democrat Joe Biden leads according to polls.
Europe’s equities market notched its first increase this week. Barclays Plc jumped after reporting improved stocks trading, lifting U.K. banking shares. Carmakers climbed after Daimler AG raised its profit forecast and Renault SA topped revenue estimates, the latest signs the global auto industry is emerging from its worst slump in decades. “The focus is shifting toward de-risking,” said Eleanor Creagh, a market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets, on Bloomberg TV. “There’s a range of outcomes from the elections that could have a huge capacity to change market sentiment and dynamics very quickly.” Growing coronavirus infections around the world continued to weigh on markets. U.S. cases exceeded 70,000 for the first day since late July. In Europe, governments have started deploying curfews and other restrictions more widely.
Elsewhere, China’s yuan climbed after an official with the country’s foreign exchange watchdog said Friday the currency’s appreciation has been “relatively moderate.”
Here are the major moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.3%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2%.
* The British pound decreased 0.3% to $1.3038.
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.186.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 104.72 per dollar.
* The Turkish lira weakened 0.4% to 7.9673 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.84%.
* The two-year rate was flat at 0.15%
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.574%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield slipped to 0.28%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude lost 2.3% to $39.70 a barrel.
* Gold futures fell less than 0.1% to $1,904 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh and Scott Schnipper.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Genius consists of equal parts of natural aptitude and hard work.
                                                  -Andre Maurois, 1885-1967

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