June 2nd, 2025, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

June 2, 1692: Salem witch trials began.
June 2, 1946: Italy becomes a parliamentary republic after a  referendum, with massive turnout and women voting for the first time.
June 2, 1953: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
June 2, 1981: The Japanese video arcade game “Donkey Kong” made its U.S. debut. Go to article.

Marquis de Sade, writer, b. 1740
Thomas Hardy, writer, b.1840.

Physicists capture ‘second sound’ for the first time — after nearly 100 years of searching
First theorized in 1938, heat’s wave-like flow through superfluids, known as “second sound”, has proven difficult to directly observe. Now, a new technique has finally done it, and could be used to study neutron stars and high-temperature superconductors. Read More.

‘I did a bit of a dance’: Detectorist finds gold ‘mourning ring’ engraved with skull and date in UK field
A British metal detectorist discovered a gold band with an engraved date-of-death in Norfolk. Read More.

The closer a volcano is to erupting, the greener the trees around it look from space
Scientists have found a way to monitor volcanic carbon dioxide levels — one of the first signs a volcano might be about to blow — that doesn’t involve trekking up a mountain. Read More.

What goes up must come down: How megaconstellations like SpaceX’s Starlink network pose a grave safety threat to us on Earth
OPINION | Thousands of satellites with incredibly short lifetimes are being sent up into low Earth orbit. When they fall back down they’re fireballs of pollution —
and what doesn’t burn up hits the ground. Read More.

Infamous ‘neutron lifetime puzzle’ may finally have a solution — but it involves invisible atoms
A type of hydrogen that doesn’t interact with light could explain how long neutrons live and reveal the identity of the universe’s dark matter, according to a new theory. Read More.

MLB stars make history
During a rematch of last season’s World Series, New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani homered at their respective first at bats of the game, becoming the first reigning MVPs to hit a home run in the opening inning of the same game.

Beekeepers to the rescue!
A commercial truck overturned last week in northwestern Washington state, causing about 250 million honeybees to escape. But a contingent of local beekeepers showed up on the scene to help recover and reset the hives.

Ready to return to the Upside-Down?
The official release dates for season 5 of “Stranger Things” have been announced. Alas, we’ll still have to wait a few more months to see if Eleven and her friends triumph over evil.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Winter Fairy Tale by Uroš Fink
Undoubtedly my wildest location this winter: Austria’s Dobratsch mountain. After a two-hour hike through the snow with a 22kg backpack and sled, the stunning views kept me energised. I spent the evening exploring compositions, and this is my favourite: a panorama of the winter Milky Way with reddish nebulae, stretching above Dobratsch. The sky was magnificent, with Jupiter and Mars shining brightly. In the foreground is the cabin, where I spent three freezing hours, waiting for the perfect shot of the Milky Way’s core
Photograph: Uroš Fink/Milky Way photographer of the year

Blossom by Ethan Su
After three years of waiting, the Yushan alpine rhododendrons are finally in bloom once again on Taiwan’s 3,000-metre-high Hehuan mountain. On this special night, distant clouds helped block city light pollution, revealing an exceptionally clear view of the Milky Way. A solar flare from active region AR3664 reached Earth that evening, intensifying the airglow and adding an otherworldly touch to the sky. Together, these rare natural events created a breathtaking scene – vivid blooms glowing softly beneath a star-filled sky
Photograph: Ethan Su/Milky Way photographer of the year

Wisconsin, US
Ash plumes from Canadian wildfires that have been drifting across the Upper Midwest render an evening sunset in hues of orange behind Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc
Photograph: John Hart, Wisconsin State Journal/AP
Market Closes for June 2^nd, 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Mechanical forecasting will never take the place of intelligent judgement. –Humphrey Neill, 1891-1977.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.8% at 26,388.96 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1% on May 2 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1%.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 6 of 11 sectors gained; 132 of 217 shares rose, while 85 fell.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.3%.
Fortuna Mining Corp. had the largest increase, rising 11.8%.

Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5.9%
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 22.9% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.2% in the past 5 days and rose 5.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.22t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.57% compared with 8.08% in the previous session and the average of 20.68% over the past month

Index Points
Materials | 153.4592| 4.4| 42/8
Energy | 51.8177| 1.2| 33/8
Consumer Staples | 18.2693| 1.8| 9/1
Communication Services | 6.0193| 1.0| 3/2
Consumer Discretionary | 3.1016| 0.4| 5/5
Financials | 2.4037| 0.0| 12/13
Real Estate | -0.7121| -0.1| 5/14
Health Care | -1.2287| -1.9| 0/4
Utilities | -2.2201| -0.2| 8/7
Industrials | -8.2847| -0.3| 10/18
Information Technology | -8.7150| -0.3| 5/5
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 30.1600| 5.3| -0.1| 51.4
Wheaton Precious Metals | 21.9900| 5.8| -11.2| 55.5
Barrick Mining | 18.4100| 5.8| -5.5| 24.9
Power of Canada | -4.1380| -2.1| 95.7| 16.0
Shopify | -6.0540| -0.5| -48.2| -4.6
Fairfax Financial | -6.4380| -1.9| 29.5| 14.6
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed at another record high on Monday following two losing sessions as Canadian investors not only got back into the buying habit again with commodities prices surging as the U.S. dollar weakened following fresh trade threats from President Trump, while economists see less need for another cut from Wednesday’s Bank of Canada interest-rate decision.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 213.91 points to 26,388.96, topping the prior record set on Wednesday of 26,283.45.
Among sectors, The biggest gainers were Energy and Base Metals, up 1.86% and 1.19%, respectively, followed by Telecoms, up 0.97%.
Health Care, down 2.4%, and Industrials, down 0.25%, were the biggest decliners.
Despite the continuing threat of a costly trade war with the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner, The Canadian Press is reporting that the Canadian federal government collected an extra $617 million in import duties in March compared to a year earlier as counter-tariffs against U.S. trade restrictions came into effect.
Separately, The Canadian Press cited Industry Minister Melanie Joly as saying Sunday the federal government is committed to using Canadian steel and aluminum in national infrastructure and defense projects after U.S. President Donald Trump threaten on the weekend said he’ll double the tariff on U.S. imports of both metals to 50% beginning on Wednesday
The resilience has prompted many of those who watch markets closely to say that they now see the BoC leaving the key benchmark interest rate unchanged this week, even in the face of recent mixed economic data.
National Bank in a preview note published last Friday said it expects the Bank of Canada to leave its policy rate unchanged at 2.75%.
In explaining its rationale, the bank said, ultimately, its call hinges on policymakers’ judgement that they can’t be forward-looking.
“If they could be forward-looking (and despite uncertainty, we’d argue they should be), we see it as a clear-cut decision to ease.
But if policymakers are, as they imply, able to only react to the data they have in hand, the picture is admittedly mixed.”
National Bank noted the labor market, which carries a lot of weight, is consistent with further rate relief, but said the inflation picture right now is not giving the green light.
It noted there are also still key unknowns on trade impacts, inflation expectations and fiscal policy which further obscure the picture.
“Really though,” National Bank said, “if the Bank was comfortable holding steady in April when the outlook looked even more troubled, they should be fine waiting eight weeks from here.
The next decision in July will bring more data (to gauge tariff impacts), another Business Outlook Survey and greater clarity on the U.S. trade relationship with Canada (and the world).
We expect that by the time 30-Jul arrives, inflation anxiety will have moderated as economic slack accumulates and dominates modest tariff-driven inflation.
This would tip the scales towards a cut. Further out, our outlook for two quarters of negative growth, an unemployment rate above 7% and on-target inflation is consistent with the overnight target reaching 2% by year-end.”
Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets, on Friday said while the BoC will share BMO’s concerns over the employment outlook, “robust” financial markets and “surprisingly sturdy” GDP growth will provide an offset.
Meanwhile, he added, the back-up of core inflation to above 3% will keep the BoC more cautious, suggesting that rates will be held steady at this week’s decision.
“We continue to believe that this is not the end of the line for rate cuts, but we are officially pushing back our timing of those trims, to restart in late July, and perhaps stretching into early next year.
We are still circling the likelihood of a 2.0% end-point for the overnight rate, on the view that policy will need to be a bit below the neutral range amid the ongoing trade cloud.”
TD Bank, in its Friday week-ahead outlook, also noted markets expect policymakers to hold the line on rates, especially with a hot core inflation print in April, the federal election bringing the possibility of stimulus, and some global de-escalation in the trade war since the Bank’s last decision in April.
On the other hand, TD said, Canada’s jobs market is weakening, a narrative reinforced by last week’s payroll data, and domestic activity flatlined in the first quarter.
“As Canada is likely entering a weak growth period, two more cuts are likely on tap for this year, even if the Bank stands pat next week,” according to TD.
RBC too said Friday it expects the BoC will forego an interest rate cut on Wednesday in another close call following April’s pause after seven consecutive cuts, although it added “arguments for a rate cut still remain”.
RBC noted labor markets have weakened, particularly in manufacturing where jobs dropped by 30,600 in April, the largest one-month decline since the pandemic, pushing unemployment to 6.9% from 6.6% in Q1.
It also noted housing markets have cooled, reducing the risk that lower rates would reignite surging prices, and gross domestic product growth has remained positive, although the monthly pace slowed sharply after a surge in production in January.
“However,” RBC added, “the limited data since the BoC’s last decision in April hasn’t been entirely negative.
Our RBC cardholder tracking shows consumer spending held up better than expected in March and April despite lower survey-based confidence measures.”
Of commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose on Monday even as OPEC+ agreed to a third monthly production hike of 411,000 barrels per day in July but failed to meet market rumors reported last week that it was considering an even-larger increase.
WTI crude oil for July delivery closed up $1.73 to settle at US$62.52 per barrel, while August Brent crude was up $1.67 to US$64.43.
Gold was sharply higher late afternoon on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar amid further U.S. tariff hikes and rising safe-haven demand.
Gold for August delivery was last seen up $90.70 to US$3,406.10 per ounce.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rebound in big tech drove stocks higher after a slide driven by weak manufacturing, trade and geopolitical risks.
Bonds fell as the dollar hit its lowest since 2023.
Coming off the S&P 500’s best May in 35 years, the benchmark edged up at the start of what’s historically one of its quietest months for gains.
Nvidia Corp. led an over 1.5% rally in a measure of chipmakers.
US steel and aluminum shares surged on Donald Trump’s pledge to double levies on the metals.
Longer-dated Treasuries underperformed, with the spread between five- and 30-year yields near a level it last closed above in 2021.
Oil climbed.
Wall Street kept a close eye on the latest twists in the trade war, with the US extending the exclusion of Section 301 tariffs on some Chinese goods until Aug. 31, according to a notice issued by the US Customs and Border Protection.
Trump and Xi Jinping will “likely” speak this week, according to the White House.
“We continue to expect market volatility as investors digest fresh tariff headlines and incoming US economic data.
Fiscal worries remain, and geopolitical tensions are heating up,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Meantime, Russia and Ukraine wrapped up a second round of talks in Istanbul that failed to bring the two sides closer to ending the war, but laid the groundwork for a new exchange of prisoners.
Among policymakers speaking was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who didn’t comment on the rate outlook.

Corporate Highlights:
* Jamie Dimon said his retirement from the top post at JPMorgan Chase & Co. is “several years away,” but the decision is up the bank’s directors.
* Apple Inc. shares have struggled this year, but the iPhone maker offers a “significant” opportunity over the long-term, according to Bank of America Corp.
* Walt Disney Co. is laying off several hundred employees across its film and TV businesses, cuts that underscore the entertainment industry’s contraction is far from over.
* Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will pay BioNTech SE as much as $11.1 billion to license a next-generation cancer drug, as competition intensifies in an area of oncology that seeks to harness the immune system to attack tumors.
* General Electric Co. is exercising some cost increases to pass on additional charges caused by tariffs, as the world’s largest aircraft engine maker advocates for a return to a duty-free regime that long underpinned the industry.
* Moderna Inc. climbed after gaining US approval for a new Covid vaccine for a narrower group of people, in the latest sign that regulators are restricting access to immunizations under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.6%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index rose 1.6%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%
* The euro rose 0.9% to $1.1444
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3545
* The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 142.73 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $104,501.06
* Ether rose 0.4% to $2,536.47
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.45%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.52%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.67%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.8% to $63.09 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 2.8% to $3,381 an ounce

–With assistance from Andre Janse van Vuuren.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Engrave this upon thy heart:  There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story. –Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki, 1941-2023.

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