September 24, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer, b. 1896
Jim Henson, muppet creator, b. 1936

1950: Operation Magic Carpet concludes after having transported 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.

On Sept. 24, 1996, the United States and the world’s other major nuclear powers signed a treaty to end all testing and development of nuclear weapons. Go to article »

Scientists find 115,000-year-old human footprints in Saudi Arabia.-Bloomberg.

Rolling Stone is giving its list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time a major update.  Good news for fans of pop, soul and hip-hop. –CNN

The New Year’s Eve ball drop at Times Square is going virtual this year.  Real ones know that at home on the couch was already the best way to watch, even before Covid-19.-CNN

Pandemic baking has gotten weird.

Most of us aren’t traveling right now. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live vicariously.
The Times Magazine’s annual Voyages issue takes us up, up and away from it all with a climb through the Tetons in Wyoming, above, to Naples, Italy where a writer took comfort in paintings by Caravaggio and to Istanbul’s public baths (weeks before lockdown). The trips helped our travelers and writers understand what we’ve lost.
And a little closer to home, our architecture critic “strolled” around Times Square with Jerold Kayden, a professor at Harvard’s
design school, for his latest virtual tour around New York City. –The New York Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Maasai men of Matapato attend the Olng’esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya
CREDIT: REUTERS/THOMAS MUKOYA

French primary school teacher and tattoo enthusiast Sylvain Helaine, known as Freaky Hoody, poses during a photo session in Palaiseau, a south of Paris suburb, France

Frankie Frezzell (R), 2, and Lucille Wilson (L), 3, wait in line dressed as Ruth Bader Ginsburg to view the casket of the Associate Justice who is lying in repose at the U.S. Supreme
CREDIT:WIN MACNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for September 24th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1974, John C. Bogle incorporated the Vanguard Group of Investment Cos. to administer—and to be owned by—the Vanguard family of mutual funds. For the first time, large numbers of investors were able to have their money professionally managed without having to pay exorbitant fees to the fund managers.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose Thursday after a weak previous session.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 0.6%. Canada’s materials index jumped, leading nine of eleven sectors higher.
Health care remained a laggard, falling for a seventh consecutive session. Gold rebounded from a two-month low after the dollar weakened and the metal approached a technical support level.
Meanwhile, oil gained as optimism that Congress may resume talks over another round of economic stimulus provided a glimmer of hope for an otherwise dreary demand outlook. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to have sweetened an ambitious spending plan enough to push it through parliament and avoid an election.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,870 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3352 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond edged lower to 0.555%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 15,912.26 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 2 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 7.2 percent.
Today, 144 of 223 shares rose, while 75 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1.8 percent
* This quarter, the index rose 2.6 percent
* This month, the index fell 3.6 percent
* This year, the index fell 6.7 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 5.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 9.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 11.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 42.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.1 percent in the past 5 days and fell 4.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.4 on a trailing basis and 22.9 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$2.42t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.57 percent compared with
14.40 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.78 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 62.0349| 2.6| 43/9
Financials | 17.1100| 0.4| 16/10
Industrials | 8.3479| 0.4| 20/8
Energy | 7.8149| 0.4| 14/7
Consumer Discretionary | 5.1193| 0.9| 9/4
Real Estate | 4.0539| 0.8| 14/12
Communication Services | 2.4230| 0.3| 4/3
Utilities | 1.9543| 0.2| 10/6
Consumer Staples | 1.7603| 0.2| 7/3
Health Care | -3.3516| -2.2| 2/8
Information Technology | -12.1134| -0.8| 5/5
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks whipsawed as investors weighed the chances of a compromise on a new stimulus package amid concern over an uptick in global coronavirus cases. The dollar fell.
The S&P 500 pared most of its earlier rally after optimism faded that Congress would reach a spending deal with the White House. Stocks surged midday on news that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Democratic House leader were open to fresh talks. But a report that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s fresh overture deviated only slightly from previous offers sparked concern that the two sides would remain far apart. The stock gauge still closed above a key support level: Its average price of the past 100 days.
House Democrats have started drafting a stimulus proposal of roughly $2.4 trillion, according to multiple officials. While smaller than the $3.4 trillion package the House passed in May, the new proposal remains much larger than what Senate Republicans have said they could accept. President Donald Trump has indicated he’d be willing to go as high as $1.5 trillion.
“The odds of Phase 4 stimulus are a close call,” wrote Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies LLC in New York. “While still possible, there is a high risk that it does not happen this year. Without it, we would expect the economy to hit a major speed bump in Q4.” The risk of a slowdown in the economic recovery has risen with the lack of another stimulus package, prompting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists to cut their forecast for U.S. growth in the fourth quarter. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome
Powell reiterated that “it’s likely that additional fiscal support will be needed,” while Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the economy may be close to a “full recovery” by year-end.
High-frequency data that tracks economic activity show a slowdown in the recovery from the height of the lockdowns, with Americans again cutting back on flights and going out to eat less often. As Europe reemerged as a hot spot for Covid-19, the U.K. reported the highest number of new cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic, while France’s new infections jumped to a record. Republican lawmakers vowed that the presidential transition after November’s election will occur without disruption, in a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s search for a Treasury secretary is widely seen as focusing on Lael Brainard of the Fed, a choice that would keep both Wall Street and progressives in line.
     These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1%.
* The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1673.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.41 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.66%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to -0.50%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to 0.219%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.7% to $40.22 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,870.16 an ounce.
* Silver strengthened 2.1% to $23.25 per ounce.
–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Adam Haigh, Constantine
Courcoulas, Cecile Gutscher, Lynn Thomasson, Casey Wagner, Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
                                                                           -Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

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