September 30, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

September 30, 1927:  Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 60th home run of the season to break his own major-league record.  Go to article >>

September 30,1938: The Munich Agreement, signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier, and Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany.  Chamberlain declares “Peace for our time.”
Germany breaks the deal within six months.

September 30, 1452: Gutenberg Bible published.
Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor & activist, b. 1928.
Truman Capote, b. 1924.
September 30, 1955: James Dean killed in car crash.

China’s astronauts are aiming to land on the moon by 2030
And they now have a new advanced spacesuit to do it.

Pictures reveal the dramatic shrinking of major Amazon rivers
River levels in the Amazon are at record lows, upending lives and endangering wildlife. See before-and-after photos of Brazil’s worst drought on record.

‘LibraryTok’ is building school-age nostalgia on the internet
Welcome to “LibraryTok,” where school librarians are also viral stars. Their nostalgia-inspiring videos are encouraging adults to return to the library or donate to schools in need.

America’s Greyhound bus stations are disappearing
Chicago is on the verge of losing its only intercity bus terminal. Its closure could threaten access for low-income and elderly travelers with few other transportation options.

Razed city that rebelled against Rome ‘remained uninhabited for over 170 years,’ excavations reveal
The ancient city was besieged and destroyed in 125 B.C., probably in a dispute over the rights of Roman citizenship. Read More.

Scientists confirm there are 40 huge craters at the bottom of Lake Michigan
Researchers recently surveyed the bottom of Lake Michigan after spotting strange circles on the lakebed in 2022. New observations show the circles are craters, but how they formed remains unclear.
Read More.

Newest Starlink satellites are leaking even more radiation than their predecessors — and could soon disrupt astronomy
A new study reveals that Generation 2 Starlink satellites are leaking up to 30 times more radio waves than their predecessors. If SpaceX continues to deploy the newer versions as planned, we could reach an “inflection point” where astronomers can no longer properly study the cosmos, researchers warn. Read More.

Why do leafy green vegetables interact with blood thinners?
Leafy green vegetables can affect the way certain anticoagulant (blood thinning) medications work. But why? Read More.

RIP Kris Kristofferson.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fluffy brown penguin chick Pesto, who shot to fame for his massive weight of 22.5kg. The nine-month-old chick is the largest penguin Sea Life Melbourne has ever seen.
Photograph: Sea Life Melbourne/AFP/Getty Images

Swimmers take to the water at Bondi beach in early September after Australia reported its hottest August on record. According to official data released by the Bureau of Meteorology, the national average temperature in August was 3.03C above the long-term average for the month.
Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Łódź, Poland
People gather around an installation called Back to Childhood at the city’s annual festival of light
Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for September 30^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1981, the U.S. issued 20-year Treasury bonds at a 15.78% yield, an all-time high. Analysts predicted yields would have to go higher to attract stronger demand. Yields promptly fell, and kept going down for the next 12 years.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2% at 23,998.13 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.2%.
BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 5.6%.
Today, 131 of 223 shares rose, while 89 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 15%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 9.7%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* This month, the index rose 2.8%
* The index advanced 23% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 33% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.5% below its 52-week high on Sept. 26, 2024 and 28.4% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4% in the past 5 days and rose 2.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.8t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.81% compared with 9.81% in the previous session and the average of 12.25% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 23.2741| 1.2| 9/1
Energy | 18.2366| 0.5| 31/8
Industrials | 17.9903| 0.6| 21/6
Financials | 14.9357| 0.2| 18/8
Consumer Staples | 2.9515| 0.3| 10/1
Consumer Discretionary | 2.6068| 0.3| 8/4
Health Care | 0.5598| 0.7| 3/1
Real Estate | 0.0000| -0.6| 14/6
Communication Services | -2.6467| -0.4| 3/2
Utilities | -3.1865| -0.3| 2/13
Materials | -36.1275| -1.2| 12/39
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 10.4900| 1.2| -14.3| 5.0
RBC | 9.4910| 0.6| 23.3| 26.0
Constellation Software | 8.4200| 1.4| -8.8| 33.9
Barrick Gold | -5.6330| -1.7| -0.9| 12.4
Wheaton Precious Metals | -5.8630| -2.2| 57.5| 26.4
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -5.8780| -1.5| 48.8| 50.0
US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — Stocks eked out a gain in the final minutes of US trading, even after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled, he was in no hurry to make further interest-rate cuts.
Powell said the central bank will lower interest rates “over time,” while re-emphasizing that the overall economy remains on solid footing.
The S&P 500 closed the third quarter with a more than $2.5 trillion rally, shrugging off the central banker’s cautious stance.
Despite weakness earlier in the day, the S&P 500 secured its fourth-consecutive quarter of gains — the longest such winning stretch since 2021.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 notched a similar run.
“The bull market has survived the year’s historically weakest quarter, the third quarter, and it is likely to remain intact through at least the end of the year, as earnings remain strong, interest rates are moving lower and consumers are still spending,” said Emily Bowersock Hill at Bowersock Capital Partners.
“We expect the fourth quarter to be quite similar to the third quarter – elevated volatility, but with a strong finish,” she added.
Meanwhile, the world’s biggest bond market pared a historic gain after Powell’s comments.
Treasury yields were higher, led by the policy-sensitive two-year note which traded around 3.64% after Powell said the US didn’t have the data yet to make a call on the November meeting.
Still, Treasury debt returned 1.4% this month this month through Friday, as measured by the Bloomberg US Treasury Total Return Index.
If the advance holds it will be the market’s longest streak of monthly gains since 2010.
Powell was “a tiny bit hawkish at the margin, but the Fed still has a lot of cutting to do,” according to Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli.
The Fed Chair’s remarks seemed to suggest markets should think about a half-point cut instead of three-quarters of a point for the rest of the year, he added.
Swaps traders reined in their rate cut bets which had traded closer to a three-quarter point move before the US open.
“Powell won’t end the 25 bp versus 50 bp debate this afternoon. Or at least it is very unlikely,” BMO’s Ian Lyngen wrote in a note before the meeting.  Friday’s employment report is the main event this week, he said, adding Tuesday’s JOLTS figures from August “should reinforce the idea that a cooling labor market has become the new norm.”
While gauging the outlook for Fed rate cuts, investors must contend with a cocktail of risks, including rising tensions in the Middle East and a looming dockworkers’ strike in critical US ports Tuesday.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee voiced his concerns about a supply shock if a strike drags on.
“That’s going to raise the cost of doing business and lead to shortages,” he told Fox Business.
Meanwhile, Raphael Bostic of the Atlanta Fed told Reuters he was open to another half-point of policy easing at the central bank’s November meeting if the upcoming data showed slower-than-expected job growth.
To Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by David Kostin, a strong print Friday may help fuel risk-on bets and embolden investors to move “out of expensive ‘quality’ stocks into less-loved lower quality firms.”
European stocks dropped some 1% after Jeep maker Stellantis NV cut its profit margin forecast.
On Friday, Volkswagen AG had issued its second profit warning in three months.
Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. slumped in US trading.
That was in contrast to the mood in China, where the CSI 300 Index jumped as much as 9.1%, the most since 2008, fueled by the stimulus package.

Corporate Highlights
* Verizon Communications Inc., the biggest wireless carrier in the US, has agreed to sell thousands of mobile phone towers to digital infrastructure firm Vertical Bridge.
* DirecTV and Dish have agreed to combine in a deal that will create the biggest pay-TV provider in the US.
* REA Group Ltd. walked away from its pursuit of Rightmove Plc after being repeatedly rejected by the UK property portal.

Key events this week: 
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Boston Fed President Susan Collins attend conference on Tuesday
* ECB policy makers speaking at various locations include Olli Rehn, Luis de Guindos, Isabel Schnabel and Joachim Nagel on Tuesday
* BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks at Confederation of British Industry economic growth board on Tuesday
* Bank of Japan issues summary of opinions for September on Tuesday
* South Korea CPI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI on Wednesday
* Fed speakers include Richmond’s Thomas Barkin, Cleveland’s Beth Hammack, St. Louis’s Alberto Musalem and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman on Wednesday
* US nonfarm payrolls, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1133
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3371
* The Japanese yen fell 1% to 143.68 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 3.5% to $63,554.51
* Ether fell 2.4% to $2,598.86
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.79%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.12%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.00%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Spot gold fell 1% to $2,631.75 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Mackenzie, Sagarika Jaisinghani, Kit Rees, Margaryta Kirakosian and Catherine Bosley.

Have a lovely evening everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them. –Michelle Obama, b. 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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com