October 27, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Full moon this weekend, rising tomorrow night – also known as the “Hunter’s Moon.”

Just back last night from an investment conference in NYC which was full of important and useful insights.  AI features hugely as the topic of conversation.  It is being regarded as an inflection point in human evolution that is going to have tremendous impact on our human story, equivalent to the Gutenberg press, the industrial revolution and the internet.  It is amazing how rapidly the AI story is progressing.
This is the conference that I refer to as the Taylor Swift concert equivalent in the world of finance/investing.  Presenters included heavyweights, Stanley Druckenmiller, Steve Cohen, Paul Jones, Ken Griffin, Larry Robbins, Asam Altman (innovator of ChatGPT) and so on…

October 27, 1904: The first rapid transit subway opened, in New York City.  Go to article >>

Theodore Roosevelt, b.1858.
Dylan Thomas, b.1914.
Sylvia Plath, b. 1932.

October 27, 1962: Black Saturday during the Cuban Missile Crises: An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the navy drops warning depth charges on Soviet submarines.

Cold War satellite images reveal nearly 400 Roman forts in the Middle East
The photos, taken in the 1960s and 1970s by the first spy satellites, reveal that the eastern border of the Roman Empire was a place of vibrant trade. Read More.

Rare cross-shaped reliquary unearthed from medieval knight’s home in Poland:  Archaeologists in Poland have discovered the remnants of a medieval knight’s residence, along with numerous artifacts.  Full Story: Live Science (10/26).

Rare lake forms in Death Valley
There’s still time to see a rare oasis that formed in Death Valley. Read More.

Taylor Swift is now a billionaire, Bloomberg says.  Swift’s total net worth is now at $1.1 billion, Bloomberg said, thanks to a record-breaking Eras tour that helped boost the US economy over the summer.

How 2023 became the year of the lab-grown diamond
Structurally identical to mined stones, sales of man-made diamonds were up 38% in 2022 to around $12 billion. Should legacy jewelry brands be worried?

‘Last’ Beatles song featuring John Lennon is ‘quite emotional’
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the last two living Beatles, have “come together” to finish a song that the late John Lennon wrote and recorded in 1970 called “Now and Then.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

New York, US:  Guests attend the opening night of the Balloon Museum’s immersive contemporary art exhibition Let’s Fly at Pier 36.  Photograph: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock.

London, UK:  Tjeerd Bakker, the senior horological conservator at Buckingham Palace, changes the time on a mantel clock dating from 1765-85 created by François Louis Godon in the Silk Tapestry Room.
Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Tlaxcala, Mexico:  People dressed as ghosts prepare for the Day of the Dead festival.  Photograph: Essene Hernandez/Eyepix Group/Shutterstock.
Market Closes for October 27^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1923, the greatest bull market of the 20th century began after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 85.76. It lasted nearly 6 years and lifted stocks by 344.5%. Then, beginning in 1929, the Great Crash pulled stocks down by 89%, erasing nearly all these gains.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the eighth day, dropping 0.7%, or 137.92 to 18,737.39 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level in at least a year.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.6%.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP had the largest drop, falling 4.8%.
Today, 138 of 227 shares fell, while 85 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 3.3%, heading for the worst year since 2022
* This month, the index fell 4.1%
* So far this week, the index fell 2%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Sept. 22
* The index declined 3.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.3% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week low and 10.1% below its high on Feb. 2, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.2 on a trailing basis and 13.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.99t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.33% compared with 13.39% in the previous session and the average of 14.09% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -87.7406| -1.6| 3/25
Energy | -26.5279| -0.7| 16/21
Utilities | -12.9823| -1.7| 0/15
Consumer Discretionary | -11.9448| -1.7| 2/12
Information Technology | -8.8979| -0.7| 2/9
Communication Services | -8.5992| -1.2| 1/4
Consumer Staples | -7.8769| -0.9| 1/10
Real Estate | -3.8626| -0.9| 2/18
Industrials | -1.8671| -0.1| 13/13
Health Care | -0.8463| -1.6| 0/4
Materials | 33.2550| 1.5| 45/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -16.9800| -1.6|n/a | -14.8
TD Bank | -16.0400| -1.6|n/a | -13.1
Enbridge | -10.1800| -1.6|n/a | -17.7
Wheaton Precious Metals | 3.8920| 2.1|n/a | 14.1
Agnico Eagle Mines | 7.1920| 3.2|n/a | -3.9
Franco-Nevada | 7.3810| 3.0|n/a | 3.3
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rebound in stocks sputtered, with the S&P 500 extending a slide from its July peak to 10% — and entering a “correction.”
Oil topped $85 and gold hit $2,000 amid the latest geopolitical developments.
Volatility resurfaced on news that Israeli forces are expanding activity in Gaza.
The US stock benchmark saw its worst week in a month.
The KBW Bank Index slid to the lowest since September 2020.
Amazon.com Inc. and Intel Corp. rallied on earnings.
Treasury two-year yields retreated as traders took a hot inflation measure in stride.
The dollar fell.
US stocks are in their third month of declines after bond yields soared on worries about a persistently hawkish Federal Reserve.
Concern about the war in the Middle East as well as an underwhelming corporate earnings season have dented risk appetite more recently.
“The aggressive market selloff has been driven largely by technical factors, as fundamentals remain solid,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “This is fitting, given the strong bounce since last October was also largely technical. Signs of oversold conditions and supportive seasonality should lead to a bounce, though sentiment will need to shift, which could take a catalyst or a period of
capitulation.”
More than two-thirds of stocks for companies in the S&P 500 index are trading below their 200-day moving averages, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence.
That’s a sign of widespread pain for stock prices, after many companies have posted lackluster earnings amid interest rates that are high and bond yields that keep creeping up.
US near-term inflation expectations rose in October to a five-month high as they feared higher prices at the gas pump, reinforcing downbeat views on the economy.
The Fed’s preferred measure of underlying inflation accelerated to a four-month high in September and consumer spending picked up, keeping the door open to another interest-rate hike in the months ahead. 

Corporate Highlights:
* Tesla Inc. raised the price of its Model Y Performance sport-utility vehicle by around $2,000 in China on Friday, according to its local website, reversing a reduction made only in August.
* Walt Disney Co. is once again overhauling its movie release calendar, delaying three films that had previously been scheduled for next year and removing another three from the line-up altogether.
* Ford Motor Co. said it fell short of third-quarter earnings expectations, citing higher costs and lower quality, a day after it won labor peace through a tentative contract with the United Auto Workers.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. posted disappointing profits amid weak performances by their oil-refining and chemical businesses.
* Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. jumped after the restaurant chain reported third-quarter comparable sales that beat estimates.
* AutoNation Inc., one of the biggest car dealership chains in the US, posted third-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations on rising new car sales and growth in its aftermarket repair business.
* AbbVie Inc. raised its profit outlook for this year and next as demand for newer biologic drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq helped fill the gap left by falling Humira sales.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0570
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2121
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 149.56 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $33,702.26
* Ether fell 1.3% to $1,774.32
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.83%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.83%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.54%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to $85.16 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1% to $2,016.60 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Sagarika Jaisinghani.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
We shall find peace.  We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. –Anton Chekov, 1860-1904.

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