The U.S. Fed’s dovish comments last Friday drove global equity indices and mainstream metals higher; treasury yields and the US$ retreated. We note that five of the seven indices listed below are trading at record-highs. As economic indicators are well below pre-pandemic levels, we believe corrections in equity markets are likely when the Fed shifts to a hawkish stance (likely in Q4, if inflation increases significantly from current levels).
In the U.S., deaths to daily new cases is at 0.75% (vs 0.5% last month) vs 1.5%-2.0% from the highs earlier this year. Deaths are increasing as sources indicate that the current form of vaccines is slightly less effective against the Delta variant. In B.C. (Canada), the unvaccinated account for approximately 71% of new cases, and 79% of hospitalizations. Sources indicate that 0.02% of fully vaccinated individuals get infected vs 0.2% of unvaccinated, clearly indicating the need for increasing vaccination rates across the globe. As mentioned last week, we believe Pfizer’s approval will result in higher vaccination rates.
Last week, U.S. cannabis stocks outperformed their Canadian peers. As of August 30, 2021, the Canadian big four LPs were trading at a 72% premium (up from 70% in the previous week) over their U.S. peers.
