The Wealthy Hygienist

In a trading week shortened by the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the S&P 500 was lifted to new highs by a resurgence of the mega-capitalization computer and Internet stocks that led the market last year, but which have traded sideways in recent months.

LAST WEEK WEEK IN THE MARKETS - JAN 15, 2021 STOCKS RETREAT AS INVESTORS ASSESS US POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS It was a negative, but relatively quiet, week for Nor...th American equities. Stocks drifted lower as optimism about additional US fiscal stimulus was tempered by concerns that the impeachment of President Donald Trump might slow the process of shepherding Joe Biden’s larger-than-expected COVID-19 relief proposals through Congress. The S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Composite Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index all lost ground. The shift of momentum within markets, from growth stocks to value stocks and from large capitalization stocks to small caps, continued (having taken hold in November, prompted by the wave of positive vaccine news). Bond yields, which jumped the previous week on stimulus hopes, began the week extending that move. However, yields reversed course to finish lower. The Bank of Canada released the results of its Fourth Quarter Business Outlook Survey. The report showed a continued broad-based rebound in business sentiment. However, because the survey was taken before the recent reacceleration in COVID-19 cases, investors largely ignored it. A surge in existing home sales in December was also mostly ignored. In the TSX, the small but volatile health care sector posted a double-digit gain as cannabis stocks continued to rally on hopes that the Biden Administration will decriminalize marijuana. The stocks were further buoyed when Aphria Inc. beat expectations in its quarterly earnings and Mexico moved toward permitting medical marijuana. The more substantial energy sector was also strong, as oil prices neared US$54 per barrel for the first time in a year, before retreating to end the week virtually unchanged. Consumer staples led declining sectors. Sector heavyweight Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which represents more than one third of the sector index weight, dropped after the company announced a bid to buy French supermarket operator Carrefour SA. The materials sector was also down as the price of gold slipped lower. Energy led advancing sectors of the S&P 500. The communication services sector led S&P 500 decliners. The social media companies that dominate the sector, such as Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. (Google/YouTube) fell sharply in reaction to the backlash they faced after banning or limiting posts from President Trump and some of his supporters. US economic data was mixed, with much higher-than-expected initial unemployment claims and a disappointing drop in retail sales, but a solid gain in industrial production. Most major European equity markets were lower, despite euro area industrial production that topped expectations and a reassurance from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde that economic activity will rebound as the pandemic recedes. Stocks in Italy are so far shrugging off renewed political turmoil in that country. The government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is close to collapse after a junior partner pulled out of the ruling coalition. In Japan, the COVID-19-related state of emergency was expanded from Tokyo to seven more prefectures, and officials are debating whether to once again cancel or delay the Tokyo Olympics. Nevertheless, Japanese stocks climbed after reports that the government is considering a new pandemic relief package.

The chilly months make for the perfect opportunity to download that book you've been wanting to read and learn something new, especially when it comes to your finances.

It’s a question that comes up all the time: Why isn’t the market reacting to something that is freaking people out?

Aimee Geroux never met a bruised apple or blemished cauliflower she couldn’t use. It’s still good once you cut the bad part off, says the Richmond Hill food frugalista, who employs several tools to pare $600 to $800 a month off her family of five’s grocery bills.