September 30, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1452 – Guttenberg Bible published.
1955 – James Dean killed in car crash.
Truman Capote, b. 1924
Elie Wiesel, b. 1928

Take a virtual tour along the Ket River in Siberia, home to a range of solitary settlements. -NYT.

On Sept. 30, 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders agreed at a meeting in Munich that Nazi Germany would be allowed to annex Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. Go to article »

5 parrots at a wildlife park were moved after swearing at visitors. Nature is beautiful -CNN.

Since a fossilized feather was pulled out of the ground in Germany in 1861, the identity of the creature that shed it has long been debated. A new study claims to have settled the mystery: The feather belongs to archaeopteryx, a herald of the evolutionary transition between dinosaurs and birds.  The researchers also found that the feather fit perfectly into the wing of a archaeopteryx fossil found at nearby site, reuniting the feather with the dinosaur that may have dropped it. One paleontologist was so jubilant and certain about his finding that he got it tattooed on his body. -NYT.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tomas Spalovsky during the harvest of 40,000 Pumpkins at Spilman’s pick your own Pumpkin Farm, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire
CREDIT; DANNY LAWSON/ PA

Handlers herd racing camels equipped with robot jockeys during a race at Dubai’s al-Marmoom heritage village, in the Untied Arab Emirates
CREDIT: KARIM SAHIB/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A man crosses a suspension bridge in Kathmandu, Nepal
CREDIT: NAVESH CHITRAKAR/ REUTERS
Market Closes for September 30th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1882, the first hydroelectric power plant went into service in Appleton, Wisc., turning the falling water of the Fox River into electricity that powered H.F. Rogers’ paper mill and lit up two neighboring buildings.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets fell for the first time since the pandemic-induced March selloff, led by the energy sector, which was the worst performing group in September.
The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 2.4% in the month, the first monthly decline since an 18% slump in March. The S&P/TSX Composite Energy Sector Index led the way down, falling more than 10% in September, led by Vermilion Energy.
The S&P/TSX index also fell 0.6% on Wednesday. For the entire third quarter, the index rallied 3.9%, making it the second up quarter this year.
Meanwhile, it took four months for Canada’s economy to recover almost three-quarters of its pandemic losses. Repairing the remaining damage could take years. Output jumped 4% in July and August, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday, bringing gross domestic product to about 95% of levels in February, the last full month before lockdowns began. At the depth of the recession in April, that number was 82%.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.65 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.6% to $1,886.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.5% to C$1.3318 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 0.563%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.6 percent, or 90.14 to 16,121.38 in Toronto.
TC Energy Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5 percent. OceanaGold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.3 percent.
Today, 142 of 223 shares fell, while 75 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 2.4 percent
* This quarter, the index rose 3.9 percent
* This year, the index fell 5.5 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 3.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.9 percent in the past 5 days and fell 2.4 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.8 on a trailing basis and 23.2 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$2.48t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.15 percent compared with 15.10 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.85 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -35.2357| -2.0| 5/17
Materials | -15.4963| -0.6| 12/39
Industrials | -11.4062| -0.6| 8/20
Communication Services | -9.6487| -1.1| 0/7
Financials | -9.6409| -0.2| 9/16
Information Technology | -8.3704| -0.5| 3/7
Consumer Staples | -4.2581| -0.6| 3/8
Utilities | -1.3683| -0.2| 3/12
Consumer Discretionary | -1.1045| -0.2| 6/7
Health Care | 1.7343| 1.2| 4/5
Real Estate | 4.6647| 0.9| 22/4
US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks finished higher after a volatile session that saw traders whipsawed by reports on the outlook for a new round of government stimulus.
The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.8%, paring gains of as much as 1.7% after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there had been no agreement on pandemic relief, though talks would continue.
Speculation a deal was in the works kept the benchmark at a two- week high. Portfolio rebalancing tied to the end of the month added to volatility.
Global investors are also keeping an eye on news about coronavirus vaccines amid the latest moves in Washington. New Jersey reported an uptick in the statewide positivity rate to the highest in months, while Spain ordered extra restrictions in Madrid to curb spread in Europe’s hardest-hit nation.
“As coronavirus continues to linger and certain areas of the economy are still shut down, you need some sort of stimulus package,” said Andrea Roemhildt, investment manager at Aware Asset Management. “The market is just waiting for a signal that this might actually get done.”
The S&P 500 posted an 8.5% gain this quarter, a slowdown from the previous three months’ 20% leap but still an impressive return considering the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus. The benchmark index was down more than 6% from an all-time high reached on Sept. 2. Treasury yields ticked higher Wednesday while the dollar weakened. Emerging-market stocks gained. Europe’s benchmark index slipped.
Elsewhere, equities slumped in Asia. Crude oil advanced toward $40 a barrel amid optimism over shrinking U.S. supplies.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2917.
* The euro slumped 0.2% to $1.1726.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 0.69%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.52%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.23%.
* New Zealand’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.485%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.9% to $40.02 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,888.65 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodities Index rose 0.8%.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Vassilis Karamanis, Todd White, Constantine Courcoulas and Sophie Caronello.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I’ll tell you what bravery really is.  Bravery is just determination
to do a job that you know has to be done.
                                                 -Audie Murphy, 1925-1971