May 3rd, 2025, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

June 3, 1492: Martin Behaim presents the world’s first globe, named Erdapfel or Earth Apple.  It is kept at the Germanisches Natioalmuseum in Nuremberg, Germany.
June 3, 1965: Astronaut Edward White became the first American to walk in space, during the flight of Gemini 4. Go to article.

Jefferson Davis, confederate leader, b.1808.
Allen Ginsburg, writer, b.1926.
Curtis Mayfield, soul musician, b.1942.

Blue-eyed ‘Ice Prince’ toddler was buried with a sword and a piglet 1,350 years ago in Bavaria
The “Ice Prince” burial sheds light on a toddler from a wealthy family who lived around 1,350 years ago in Bavaria, Germany. Read More.

‘It’s like trying to grow a tree in an oven’: Gold mining is sucking the Amazon rainforest dry
Gold mining in the Amazon removes so much water from the ground that it’s too hot and dry for seedlings to survive. Read More.

WATCH Mount Etna erupt: Europe’s largest volcano blows as tourists scramble to safety
Italy’s Mount Etna has erupted in spectacular fashion, sending ash, gas, and other volcanic material high into the sky above Sicily. Watch footage of the eruption. Read More.

Replika AI chatbot is sexually harassing users, including minors, new study claims
User reviews of Replika, a popular AI companion, report they had been victims of sexual harassment. And some of those users claim to be minors, according to a new study. Read More.

Maja Stark wins first major title
The 25-year-old Swedish golfer took home the trophy at the 80th US Women’s Open on Sunday in Wisconsin.

What a grand slam debut!
French wild card Lois Boissan, who was ranked No. 361 in the world, produced the biggest shock of the French Open so far when she ousted American world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Monday.
Magnus Carlsen’s outburst
The usually calm five-time world champion slammed his fist on the table in frustration after losing to defending classical chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju at the 2025 Norway Chess tournament on Sunday.
Megawatt couple marries
Actress Hailee Steinfeld (“Sinners,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”) wed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen over the weekend in California. The pair have been romantically linked since 2023.

Rampaging raccoons
A family of furry intruders recently broke into an Airbus factory near Montreal, Canada. Damage included urine and chewed wires.

“Specific to libraries, I will simply say that many people in this country, including me, were raised in libraries, and they’re not just buildings with shelves, they are sanctuaries of possibility.”  — Actress Sarah Jessica Parker on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding to libraries

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Iceland
‘A remote village church.’
Photograph: Bob Blackburn

Qingdao, China
Wetland covered with Suaeda salsa, a plant also known as seepweed or sea-blite
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Banff National Park, Canada
‘We hiked up to the Rockpile to view the sun rising over the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Words fail to capture the peace, calm and tranquility of the perfect reflection. It was a soul-soothing and truly spiritual experience.’
Photograph: Saradha Iyer
Market Closes for June 3^rd, 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
It’s waiting that helps you as an investor, and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. -Charlie Munger, 1924-2023.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.1%, or 37.68 to 26,426.64 in Toronto.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2%.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. had the largest increase, rising 16.0%.
Today, 140 of 217 shares rose, while 74 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.

Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 6.1%
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 14% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 23.1% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6% in the past 5 days and rose 5.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 16.7 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$4.25t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.05% compared with 7.57% in the previous session and the average of 19.57% over the past month

Index Points
Energy | 46.1242| 1.1| 38/2
Financials | 17.9583| 0.2| 14/11
Utilities | 11.0858| 1.1| 10/5
Consumer Discretionary | 1.6830| 0.2| 5/5
Health Care | 0.6416| 1.0| 3/1
Real Estate | 0.2569| 0.1| 11/7
Industrials | -0.8196| 0.0| 17/11
Communication Services | -4.0246| -0.7| 0/5
Materials | -10.2810| -0.3| 33/16
Consumer Staples | -11.8987| -1.1| 3/7
Information Technology | -13.0260| -0.5| 6/4
Canadian Natural Resources | 13.5600| 2.2| 146.2| -2.8
TD Bank | 13.0200| 1.1| -21.9| 25.5
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 7.9900| 1.1| -32.2| 8.3
WSP Global | -7.6710| -3.0| 100.8| 8.5
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -7.9730| -1.3| -24.1| 49.4
Shopify | -15.2600| -1.2| -44.6| -5.8
The Toronto Stock Exchange posted a fresh record close for a second-straight day Tuesday, even as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order today to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, with effect from tomorrow.
“The U.S. president will be signing that executive order today, and steel and aluminum tariffs will be going to 50%, yes,” she said, Canada’s CTV News reported shortly before the close of trade, while noting Canada is the largest steel and aluminum supplier to the United States.
Today, the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up a modest 37.68 points to 26,426.64, with most sectors higher led by Energy, up 1.45%, and Utilities, up 1.1%.
While investors have been bidding up Canadian stocks in recent weeks, one Macquarie strategist noted traders continue to struggle with understanding what direction the U.S. trade relationships with the rest of world is going in.
While he was referring more to U.S. traders, his sentiments apply to traders across North America.
Thierry Wizman, Global FX & Rates Strategist at Macquarie, said traders are struggling because tariffs and the evolving nature of U.S. trade relations with the rest of the world are seen as the main pivot that determines what will happen to global growth and inflation trends in the rest of 2025.
Indeed, Wizman added, the OECD’s new global GDP growth projection for 2025 was downgraded, to 2.9% from 3.1%, precisely because of the tariff outlook.
Reflecting his words and thoughts, CTV News cited the United Steelworkers national director for Canada, Marty Warren, as saying the tariffs on steel and aluminum will have a devastating impact on Canadian workers and companies.
“We are on the verge of collapse in some places,” Warren told CTV.
“We cannot access the American market at 50% tariffs,” Warren said, adding that nearly 65% of Canadian steel goes to the U.S. market.
CTV News noted Canada exported $15.9 billion worth of aluminum to the United States, according to the United Steelworkers (USW) union.
While most market watchers expect the Bank of Canada to hold the key benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75% tomorrow, there are likely some who see the confirmation of the tariff on steel and aluminum as a good reason for the central bank to move on rates lower on Wednesday and pre-empt any possibility of a devastating fall out for an economy already under pressure due to tariff uncertainty around the auto sector.
Of commodities, gold prices eased late afternoon on Tuesday as the dollar rose despite a forecast for weakening U.S. growth amid the country’s global tariff battles.
Gold for August delivery was last seen down $20.10 to US$3,377.10 per ounce, after rising 1.6% a day earlier.
But West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed with a gain, climbing for a second day on tightening supply as wildfires cut into supply from Alberta’s oil sands and talks to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions and lift sanctions on its exports falter, even as OPEC+ adds new production to the market.
WTI crude oil for July delivery closed up $0.89 to settle at US$63.41 per barrel, while August Brent crude was last seen up $1.02 to US$65.65.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders drove stocks higher as data showed the US labor market is holding up despite concerns about risks stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff war.
Bonds fell.
The dollar rose.
Just days ahead of the US payrolls report, an unexpected increase in job openings buoyed sentiment.
Tech giants led the S&P 500’s bounce, with Nvidia Corp. up almost 3%.
Energy shares joined a rally in oil.
Earlier equity losses were driven by a cut in OECD’s growth forecasts as the institution said combative trade policies have tipped the world economy into a downturn.
The rise in job openings reinforced the Federal Reserve’s assertion that the labor market is in a good place.
While some economists fear a more notable weakening in coming months under the weight of tariffs, that hasn’t shown up in the data yet, supporting officials’ posture to keep rates steady.
“The higher-than-expected job openings number this morning is a good sign for the economy, as many were worried that the tariff uncertainty was weighing too heavily on businesses,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
The Office of the US Trade Representative has sent letters to trading partners to remind them of an upcoming deadline in negotiations, according to the White House.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he’s “very optimistic” about prospects for a deal between the US and India.

Corporate Highlights:
* Dollar General Corp. surged after increasing its annual guidance, helped by luring more higher-income shoppers looking for deals. The discount chain also said it expects to mitigate a significant amount of the tariffs currently in place.
* Broadcom Inc. began shipping a new version of its data center switch chips that can boost the efficiency of AI accelerators, aiming to take a bigger role in the booming market for artificial-intelligence computing.
* Surging demand for power to run artificial intelligence just prompted Meta Platforms Inc. to enter a 20-year contract with the biggest US nuclear operator, penning a deal that’s likely to be priced at a cheaper rate than a similar agreement rival Microsoft Corp. entered last year.
* Marriott International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tony Capuano said consumers are still signing up for travel, but just waiting longer to book hotel rooms.
* Victoria’s Secret & Co. said a security incident that caused it to shut down its e-commerce site may hurt results for the current quarter.
* Signet Jewelers Ltd. raised its profit outlook for the full year and lifted the low end of its sales guidance, signaling confidence in the new chief executive’s overhaul strategy and consumers’ willingness to spend despite economic turbulence.
* Hims & Hers Health Inc. said it’s buying privately held telehealth company Zava as it looks to expand its footprint in Europe.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.2%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.1369
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3516
* The Japanese yen fell 1% to 144.07 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $106,307.23
* Ether rose 3.4% to $2,626.12
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to4.46%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.53%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.64%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $63.33 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $3,352.85 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Fifty years from now, you’ll want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right in every part of your life.  At the end of the day, our integrity is all we have.  Guard it carefully. –Jay Powell, Princeton University Commencement speech to 2025 graduating class.

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