October 29, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Happy Hallowe’en.
On this day in 1822, in the heat of the earliest frenzy for investing in emerging markets, the 6% bonds of the Kingdom of Poyais, near Nicaragua, traded at 81.5% of their par value on the London Stock Exchange, just behind Chile (at 84% of par). Unfortunately, Poyais was a fictitious country fabricated by a Scottish scamster, Gregor MacGregor, and the bonds soon turned out to be worthless.

October 29, 1969: Internet created between Stanford and UCLA.

Rome airport reveals plans for flying taxis.  Hey now, that sounds pretty close to flying cars! The future we were promised is almost here! 

Canada and USA unveil 2022 Winter Olympic uniforms.  Fashionable puffy coats for all!

Endangered condors are now making babies without males. (h/t Scott Kominers)

Scientists understand a little more about why dogs tilt their heads when listening.

Scientists re-create an old “primordial soup” experiment and find something new.

Meta might release a smartwatch.

The Hamptons are trying to climate-proof themselves.

Five hundred 3-D maps of Mayan and Olmec ruins reveal striking similarities. 

A giant space-spider web. 

The best movie vampires ever.  Some are kinda scary. Some are kinda sexy. Some are kinda … both? 

“Lycanthrope” is another word for what familiar fantasy figure? 
A. a vampire
B. a ghost
C. a demon
D. a werewolf
 
Take CNN’s new Halloween quiz to see if you’re correct!

Photos of the Day
Children play on the Art Eggcident urban art installation by the Dutch artist Henk Hofstra during the Hecho en Casa festival at the Parque de la Familia
CREDIT: Esteban Félix/AP
A grey seal with her newborn pup on the beach at Horsey in Norfolk, as the pupping season begins at one the UK’s most important sites for the mammals. Friends of Horsey Seals, which monitors the colony and carries out regular counts of the new arrivals, has installed a voluntary beach closure. It is using seal wardens to ensure members of the public keep a safe distance from the protective mothers and their pups
CREDIT: Joe Giddens/PA
An aerial view shows a giant land-art fresco, bottom right, by French-Swiss artist Saype, painted for his worldwide Beyond Walls project. The fresco covers 1,500 sq metres and was created using biodegradable paint produced on site with charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins. Beyond Walls aims to create the largest symbolic human chain around the world
CREDIT: Valentin Flauraud/AP

Market Closes for October 29^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On Oct. 29, 1929, stock prices collapsed on the New York Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors were wiped out.  Go to article »
Canada
By Natasha Abellard
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Friday after the country’s economy grew less than expected in the third quarter, sparking uncertainty in the nation’s recovery. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.8% in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.2%. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.8%.  Aecon Group had the largest drop, falling 9.5%. Today, 156 of 233 shares fell, while 75 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 20 times. The next day, it advanced 15 times for an average 0.9% and declined five times for an average 0.7%
* This year, the index rose 21%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 4.8%, heading for the biggest advance since November 2020
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8%
* The index advanced 34% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 39% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.3% below its 52-week high on Oct. 26, 2021 and 36.4% above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.6 on a trailing basis and 16.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.29% compared with 11.16% in the previous session and the average of 10.14% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -91.6760| -1.4| 2/26
* Materials | -37.9364| -1.6| 11/43
* Energy | -15.0058| -0.5| 6/17
* Information Technology | -5.0778| -0.2| 10/5
* Consumer Staples | -4.8871| -0.7| 7/6
* Utilities | -3.4650| -0.4| 9/7
* Real Estate | -2.1707| -0.3| 8/16
* Communication Services | -1.8231| -0.2| 2/5
* Health Care | -0.7148| -0.4| 3/6
* Consumer Discretionary | 0.1922| 0.0| 3/9
* Industrials | 2.1007| 0.1| 14/16
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Royal Bank of | | | |
* Canada | -22.8600| -1.8| 0.0| 23.2
* Brookfield Asset | | | |
* Management | -16.2100| -2.1| 180.2| 43.1
* Bank of Nova Scotia| -10.6300| -1.5| 8.3| 17.9
* Shopify | 5.4710| 0.4| 52.6| 25.7
* Suncor Energy | 5.6940| 1.7| 46.1| 52.5
* Waste Connections | 8.1950| 2.8| 114.2| 29.0

US
By Emily Graffeo and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose  Friday as traders weighed disappointing earnings and bond-market gyrations amid concerns over inflation and monetary tightening. The S&P 500 gained 0.2% after opening lower on underwhelming results from Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. The gains brought the benchmark index up 6.9% for October, its biggest monthly increase since last November. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 pushed 0.5% higher, offset by gains in Tesla Inc. as well as Meta Platforms Inc. after its name change from Facebook Inc. “It looks like investors already have a bit of a sugar high as Halloween approaches,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. “Most of us were prepared for a bumpy ride today following yesterday’s announcements from Apple and Amazon. Fortunately, today’s positive reports from companies like Exxon and Chevron helped change the narrative.”
Elsewhere, inflation pressures and the prospect of interest-rate hikes whipsawed bond markets. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 1.55% after earlier gains.  And in Europe, bonds extended a retreat after data on Eurozone economic growth and inflation topped analysts’ estimates, reinforcing a growing conviction interest-rate increases are on the horizon after only a mild pushback from the leader of the European Central Bank. Markets are grappling with a number of crosscurrents. Generally positive corporate performance has helped to underpin global equities. But inflation risks from supply-chain snarls and costlier raw materials are boosting expectations for rate hikes and dimming the economic outlook. “Almost any data series you look at, be it the bond market, be it inflation, GDP, the labor market, anything is still showing these signs of fibrillation and that’s going to take some time to sort out,” said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, on Bloomberg Radio and TV’s “Surveillance.” The latest GDP data in the U.S. showed growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter, hampered by supply chains and a surge in Covid-19 cases. A separate report showed that weekly jobless claims fell to a pandemic low, and personal spending slowed in line with analysts’ estimates in September. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased losses, but still secured its fourth straight weekly advance. The U.S. dollar strengthened. Crude oil gained. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin rose to $62,300 and Ether rallied to a record high.

Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.7%
* The euro fell 1% to $1.1559
* The British pound fell 0.8% to $1.3684
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 113.98 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.56%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.11%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 1.03%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $83.33 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1% to $1,784.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Nathan Hager and Kamaron Leach.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to see things through.  The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. 
It’s the age-old struggle – the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other. -General Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964.

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