October 30, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Full moon tomorrow night for Halloween -second full moon this month, so a rare occasion.
Trick or treat? Halloween will include the first blue moon visible in every time zone since 1944. Here’s what that could mean for your horoscope. –NYTimes.

Yes, you have to switch your clock back an hour on Sunday. Experts in winter depression say the loss of daylight — just as coronavirus infections spike again and election tension comes to a head — could make this an unusually difficult stretch. They recommend taking practical steps now to protect your mood and mental health. (Perhaps we can all take comfort in a bit of friluftsliv, a Nordic concept of outdoor life.) –Seattle Times.
On Oct. 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain his world heavyweight title. Go to article »

Here’s a decent short list of classic horror movies to watch this weekend. Here’s a long list.  Happy Halloween!
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Northern Lights, photographed from Soertinden on Kvaloya, near Tromsoe
CREDIT: RUNE STOLTZ BERTINUSSEN/NTB/SCANPIX NORWAY

A surfer rides a large wave at Praia do Norte in Nazare, Portugal 
CREDIT: RAFAEL MARCHANTER/REUTERS

An adventurer captured in the heart of an ice cave as he explores a glacier in Iceland
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/@ICECAVEHUNTER//MAGNUS.BJARKI

The Suri dress up in floral headdresses in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia
CREIDT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/ANDREA ANGRISANI

A kingfisher catching a small fish in its beak
CREDIT: JOHN PRINGLE/CATERS NEWS
Market Closes for October 30th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1989, Mitsubishi Estate Co. agreed to pay $846 million for 51% of Rockefeller Center in New York City, setting off mass hysteria among U.S. pundits, who claimed that America’s patrimony was being scooped up by the Japanese. By 1996 the Mitsubishi affiliate was so financially troubled that it sold Rockefeller Center for less than $400 million.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell on Friday and posted the biggest weekly decrease since the pandemic-led market meltdown in March.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.6% in Toronto, bringing the decline this week to 4.4%. Tech stocks were the worst performers, led by routs in Shopify and Celestica.
Meanwhile, Fidelity Investments is tilting some Canadian funds toward holding more assets outside the country on concern that the nation’s debt binge will weigh on returns and depress the value of the loonie.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.10 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose +0.6% to $1,878.3 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.3322 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.664%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6 percent at 15,580.64 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 9 after the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 135 of 223 shares fell, while 84 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.3 percent. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. had the largest drop, falling 9.8 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 4.4 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 20
* This month, the index fell 3.4 percent
* This year, the index fell 8.7 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 5.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 39.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.8 on a trailing basis and 22.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.4t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.53 percent compared with 15.47 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.90 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -57.6818| -3.7| 3/7
Utilities | -18.2729| -2.1| 1/15
Industrials | -13.5110| -0.7| 6/22
Financials | -11.1984| -0.2| 11/15
Communication Services | -8.8279| -1.1| 0/7
Consumer Discretionary | -8.5324| -1.5| 2/11
Consumer Staples | -6.6870| -1.0| 0/11
Real Estate | -2.9476| -0.6| 9/17
Health Care | -2.4042| -1.5| 3/7
Energy | 3.2311| 0.2| 11/10
Materials | 36.7749| 1.5| 38/13
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped, capping their biggest weekly rout since March, after earnings from the largest tech companies disappointed investors concerned that a slowing economy will damp profit.
The Nasdaq 100 declined about 2.6% after Apple Inc.’s iPhone sales and Twitter Inc.’s user growth both missed estimates, though Google parent Alphabet Inc. jumped after reporting a rebound in advertising. The S&P 500 Index dropped 5.6% over the past five days, the worst-ever loss in the week leading to a presidential election. Ten-year Treasury yields jumped to the highest since June.
The tech slump, coming after an unprecedented run higher this year, is adding to volatility that’s likely to remain elevated heading into next week’s U.S. election. Global equities posted the worst weekly decline since March as lockdown measures in some countries and the lack of an agreement on U.S. stimulus dented sentiment. New U.S. coronavirus cases topped 89,000, setting a daily record.
“Today’s action is a reminder of just how fickle markets can be,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX. “The earnings themselves were not awful, but the market has priced tech to near perfection and thus one fly — maybe even a fruit fly — in the ointment could perpetuate a sell-off.”

In Europe, equities edged higher. Tech stocks also faltered as did Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk A/S, whose earnings disappointed analysts. Banks rose after Spain’s BBVA SA and the U.K.’s NatWest Group Plc reported improved pictures for soured loans.
Elsewhere, spot gold prices rose. Crude oil slumped in New York.
Here are the main market moves:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index decreased 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 2.6%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.
* The British pound increased 0.2% to $1.2954.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 104.68 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 0.87%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.63%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.26%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $35.60 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,878.61 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Adam Haigh, Yakob Peterseil, Todd White and Robert Brand.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I am an optimist, because I don’t see the point in being anything else.
                                                       -Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865

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