September 9, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Chrysanthemum Day, Japan.

September 9, 490 BC: Battle of Marathon.
William the Conqueror, d. 1087.
Leo Tolstoy, author, b. 1828

The ‘world’s best’ cities for 2021?  San Francisco has been crowned the “world’s best” city, according to Time Out.

The Poem:
Flight
   by Christian Witman

In the end we love the line love cannot cross.
In the end we fall for what we fail.

Forget friendship. Ardor.
Forget the years that only grow harder

as the soul recedes in what the years bring,
grown alien to any touchable thing.

Touch me. As I am. As you can.
My heart a bird’s heart just beyond your hand.

                                                                after Anna Akhmatova
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An incredible rainbow Aurora over Kirkjufell mountain in Iceland. English photographer Ben Bush captured the aurora dancing over the peak around 5am this morning
CREDIT: BEN BUSH/BAV MEDIA

A man with pigeons cools off near a fountain on a sunny autumn day in central Kiev, Ukraine
CREDIT: REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH

Members of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and the Island Sailing Club take part in the annual Brambles cricket match between the clubs, which takes place on the Bramble Bank sandbank in the middle of the Solent at low tide
CREDIT: ANDREW MATTHEWS/PA WIRE

A woman and child walk past a display of US flags to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with the annual Waves of Flags display and remembrance at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California
CREDIT: FREDERIC J.BROWN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for September 9^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1974, the day after President Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for the Watergate scandal, Wall Street tanked, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.2%. The pardon, claimed one broker, “weakens confidence in [Ford’s] Administration and in his ability to deal with Congress on economic problems.” The Dow, however, proceeded to soar by 24.9% over the next year.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.2%, or 36.52 to 20,705.27 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Sept. 1. Industrials stocks led the market lower Thursday as 9 of 11 sectors declined; 145 of 229 shares fell, while 82 rose. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.9%. Transcontinental Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.9%. The Bank of Canada released guidance for the first time on how it plans to eventually reduce monetary stimulus, saying it will first raise interest rates before curbing its holdings of government bonds.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 19 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index rose 2.7 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 0.6 percent
* The index advanced 26 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 33 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9 percent below its 52-week high on Sept. 7, 2021 and 34.3 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.4 on a trailing basis and 16.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.26t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 5.85 percent compared with 5.82 percent in the previous session and the average of 7.67 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Industrials | -28.9770| -1.1| 16/13
* Energy | -11.7397| -0.5| 10/12
* Communication Services | -8.4025| -0.8| 0/7
* Consumer Staples | -8.2707| -1.1| 1/12
* Materials | -6.8188| -0.3| 14/40
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.0887| -0.4| 5/8
* Utilities | -2.1608| -0.2| 5/10
* Real Estate | -1.0318| -0.2| 9/16
* Health Care | -0.3577| -0.2| 3/6
* Financials | 5.2867| 0.1| 13/15
* Information Technology | 29.0454| 1.2| 7/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Canadian Pacific | -16.7300| -3.9| 45.0| -0.6
* Canadian National | -16.4100| -2.1| 58.1| 8.6
* Enbridge | -7.7650| -1.1| 3.2| 24.6
* Lightspeed Commerce| | | |
* Inc | 6.3260| 6.2| 30.4| 74.8
* Nutrien | 9.5780| 3.1| 35.9| 29.4
* Shopify | 20.8900| 1.4| 6.1| 32.3
US
By Richard Richtmyer and Elaine Chen
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell in volatile trading as mixed economic data kept investors on edge about the timing of stimulus tapering even as the relentless spread of the Covid-19  delta variant undermines global growth. The S&P 500 notched a fourth straight decline after erasing an intraday gain that had brought it to within 0.4% of its all-time high. The dollar weakened and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields declined. European equities fell, with the Stoxx 600 erasing the initial advance it saw after the European Central Bank said it will slow its emergency support but keep policy accommodative. Thursday’s volatility came as data showed initial unemployment claims in the U.S., where calls for the Federal Reserve to start reducing its asset purchases have been growing, fell to a pandemic-era low as the labor market continues to recover.  At the same time, there’s increasing evidence that the delta variant may impede the recovery. More U.S. companies have been expressing concern about it. Microsoft Corp. on Thursday indefinitely delayed a full reopening of its offices.
The Biden administration plans to order executive branch employees, federal contractors and millions of health-care workers to be vaccinated and require large private employers to mandate shots or testing. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance, pointed out that the afternoon swoon in stocks coincided with a Treasury auction and follow-on activity in the bond market where investors were buying Treasuries aggressively, pushing down yields.  “It looked like algorithms or other quick-moving traders were at work in the equities market following what happened in the bond market,” Zaccarelli said.
Underlying that, “there’s a general feeling in the market that growth is slowing down in the U.S. There’s concern that what’s happening with the delta variant is impacting consumer behavior, potentially business behavior,” he said. While Thursday’s jobs report showed a stronger-than-expected labor market, other recent readings on the economy have been mixed. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey showed U.S. economic activity accelerated in the past two months as consumers pulled back on spending due to safety concerns. However, shortages meant inflationary trends remained stubborn, according to the findings. Further evidence of global price pressures came from China, where factory-gate inflation surged. Still, calls for a reduction in bond purchases are strengthening. Fed Bank of New York President John Williams said it could be appropriate for policy makers to begin tapering this year. Dallas President Robert Kaplan said based on the current outlook he would back a September announcement of a tapering in bond purchases and a possible start in October. Chinese technology stocks slid after officials told firms including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc. to end their focus on profit in gaming. The selloff extended to the U.S., where NetEase and Alibaba Group Holding declined. Digital Realty, which manages technology-related properties, tumbled 5% after entering into forward sale agreements with banks for 6.25 million shares at $160.50 each.

What to watch this week:
* U.S. President Joe Biden may make his choice this week on whether to renominate Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a second term

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1826
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3837
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 109.71 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.30%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to -0.36%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.74%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.9% to $67.97 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,796.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. –Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1869-1948.

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