Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carolann is away from the office for the Sohn San Francisco Investment Conference. I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.
On Oct. 29, 2015, It was announced that China was ending its one-child policy; beginning in 2016, couples could have two children.
On Oct. 29, 1941, After nearly 15 years of work, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota was completed; the colossal sculpture features the heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Watch Air Force fly inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa as experts warn ‘storm of the century’ will be catastrophic for Jamaica
The U.S. Air Force’s “Hurricane Hunters” have flown inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa, capturing eerie footage of the historic storm that has caused widespread devastation in Jamaica.

Building blocks of life detected in ice outside the Milky Way for first time ever
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered five complex organic molecules trapped in the ice around a star outside our galaxy. This cosmic first hints that the stuff of life may be widespread throughout space.

‘Miracle’ photo captures Comet Lemmon and meteor seemingly entwined over Earth
An astronomer in Italy caught a fortuitous image of the bright comet Lemmon seemingly entwined with the glowing trail of a “shooting star.”

Would you get rid of daylight-saving time?
Poll: The clocks in the U.S. will be “falling back” on Sunday, Nov. 2, marking the end of daylight-saving time for 2025. If you could decide, would you abandon it forever?

Nvidia — the world’s most valuable public company — wants to make its technology central to everyday life. That means everything from cell phone towers to robotic factories to self-driving cars.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Blackpool, UK
Global Grooves performers at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom during the town’s Lightpool celebrations
Photograph: Gregg Wolstenholme/Bav Media

Val d’Hérens, Switzerland
Larch trees stand in fresh snow beside a partly frozen Lac Bleu in the Swiss Alps
Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Fuzhou, China
Couples in Tang-style costumes participate in a group wedding
Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images
Market Closes for October 29th , 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Commodities

Market Commentary:
This day in 1929 became known as “Black Tuesday.”  The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 30 points to 230.07, an 11.7% collapse. At one point during the day the Dow was down 18.5%.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.9% at 30,144.78 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.7% on Oct. 21 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 138 of 214 shares fell, while 71 rose.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 8.0%.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 22%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 0.4%
* The index advanced 23% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.2% below its 52-week high on Oct. 15, 2025 and 35.6% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5% in the past 5 days and rose 0.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.5 on a trailing basis and 18.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.86t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.93% compared with 12.56% in the previous session and the average of 9.66% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | -129.6264| -1.3| 1/23
Industrials | -55.7669| -1.6| 12/15
Consumer Staples | -40.1366| -3.9| 1/10
Information Technology| -40.1350| -1.2| 2/7
Consumer Discretionary| -10.0411| -1.0| 3/6
Real Estate | -8.3347| -1.7| 0/19
Utilities | -7.0260| -0.6| 3/11
Communication Services| -4.5818| -0.7| 0/5
Health Care | -1.0791| -1.3| 1/3
Energy | 9.0128| 0.2| 23/16
Materials | 12.8243| 0.3| 25/23
Constellation |Software | -41.6300| -8.0| 117.9| -22.3
RBC | -31.9100| -1.6| 77.6| 18.0
Couche-Tard | -19.1200| -4.9| 139.1| -12.3
Lundin Mining | 6.7550| 6.5| 35.3| 89.7
Celestica | 14.4500| 4.0| -24.3| 255.9
Canadian Natural |Resources | 16.7800| 2.6| -48.7| 1.0
New Gold | 11.1| 5.4190| 152.3| 173.3
Lundin Mining | 6.5| 6.7550| 35.3| 89.7
Capstone Copper | 5.3| 2.7070| 23.0| 38.7
Constellation | Software | -8.0| -41.6300| 117.9| -22.3
Perpetua Resources | Corp | -7.1| -1.2880| 3.6| 113.6
Descartes Systems | -7.1| -5.6930| 155.4| -23.4
(MT Newswires)
The Toronto Stock Exchange slumped Wednesday after the Bank of Canada as expected cut rates again and provided neutral forward guidance, but one market watcher was left feeling the overall tone from the central bank was “rather negative” on the economic outlook and another said it won’t move firms from taking a “wait-and-see approach” when it comes to much needed investment spending.
The resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 274.9, points or 0.9%, to 30,144,78.
Most sectors were lower, with both Industrials and Info Tech down about 1.6% and Health Care down 1.2%.
The Battery Metals Index rose 2.5% and Energy 1%.
The Bank of Canada met market expectations this morning as it cut rates by 25 basis points for a second straight month, taking the key benchmark level down to 2.25%.
For his part, veteran economist David Rosenberg noted the forward guidance provided by the central bank in accompanying documents and in a market briefing on the decision was neutral, but he said the overall tone was more dovish than it was six weeks ago and “rather negative” on the economic outlook.
According to Rosenberg, the language conveyed that “more is coming”.
After all, he noted, the BoC forecast is for “stall-speed” real GDP growth of just 0.75% at an annual rate for the second half of this year, and with a “muddled outlook” for 2026.
Rosenberg also noted reference to the “weakening macro backdrop transcending mere cyclical surfaces”.
“From my lens,” Rosenberg said, “the fact that the press conference contained a reference to any pickup being so tepid that it “implies excess supply is only taken up gradually,” with the output gap remaining intact through 2027, is a telltale sign that the Bank is not yet done.
And the beauty of this view is that there are only 40% odds being priced in for one more easing by January.
Best to stay long the front end of the GoC bond curve and fade these intermittent rallies in the listless loonie.”
Elsewhere, the Conference Board of Canada in citing key highlights from today said the BoC’s October rate cut reflects the “growing realization that trade disruptions are not just cyclical, they’re structural”.
The board noted sectors like autos, steel, and lumber have suffered sustained damage in 2025, which limits the effectiveness of monetary policy in stimulating demand.
According to its latest Canada Five-Year Outlook, many firms are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to investment spending.
Another quarter point cut to the BoC’s key policy rate will not change this sentiment, the board added.
The board noted headline CPI inflation came in at 2.4% in September, slightly above expectations, while core inflation measures remain near 3%.
However, the board said, broader indicators suggest underlying inflation is closer to 2.5% and trending downward.
Despite this, it noted, the BoC expects inflation to stay near its 2% moving forward.
It also noted that according to Statistics Canada, the distribution of price changes across CPI components shows a narrowing range, indicating reduced volatility and easing pressure.
“Canada’s labour market remains fragile. With slower population growth, fewer new jobs are needed to maintain employment rates, but the underlying slack remains.
The Bank’s rate cut is a preemptive move to support demand and prevent further deterioration,” the board added.
Meanwhile, RBC said overall its base case assumes no further rate reductions, as it expects a ramp up in fiscal stimulus, with more details to come in the federal budget next week, will do the bulk of the heavy lifting in the policy response to address tariff-related, concentrated economic weakness.
Of commodities, gold traded lower late afternoon on Wednesday for a fourth day, weakening despite an expected cut in U.S. interest rates.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$26.20 to US$3,956.90 per ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed higher after a report showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. oil inventories, showing demand remains solid despite concerns the market is over supplied.
WTI crude oil for December delivery closed up $0.33 to settle at US$60.48 per barrel, while December Brent oil was last seen up US$0.62 to US$64.99.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street was shaken Wednesday as evidence of division at the Federal Reserve over the future of monetary policy whipsawed stocks and pushed bond yields higher.
After the central bank delivered a widely anticipated rate cut, Chair Jerome Powell counseled against trying to predict whether another reduction was likely in 2025.
His remarks reined in expectations in financial markets, with traders reducing bets on a quarter-point cut in December.
“In the committee’s discussions at this meeting there were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December.
A further reduction in the policy rate at our December meeting is not a foregone conclusion — far from it.
Policy is not on a preset course,” he said.
Officials delivered their second straight rate reduction to support a softening labor market and said they would stop shrinking the portfolio of assets on Dec. 1.
Governor Stephen Miran dissented again in favor of a larger reduction.
Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said he preferred not to cut rates at all.
“Given these dissents on both sides, it might be difficult to put a down payment on December,” said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research.
The S&P 500 wiped out its gain.
A gauge of megacaps climbed as Nvidia Corp. became the first $5 trillion company.
In late hours, Alphabet Inc. reported solid sales.
Meta Platforms Inc. sees total expenses to significantly rise in 2026.
Microsoft Corp.’s expansion in its Azure unit failed to inspire traders.
The yield on two-year Treasuries jumped 11 basis points to 3.6%.
The dollar advanced.
“Powell gave investors a peak behind the curtain showing markets that there is no forgone agreeable path when it comes to the committee voters,” said Jay Woods at Freedom Capital Markets.
“Their goal to satisfy their dual mandate remains tricky and could prove quite delicate going forward.”
The knee-jerk reaction is a great example of the market being forward-looking because the immediate news – a rate cut and the end of quantitative tightening – are both positives for stocks and bonds, according to Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
“However, markets already expected this and were negatively surprised that future cuts might be taken off the table,” he said.
Zaccarelli thinks this will prove to be a buying opportunity because the Fed is likely to continue to support both stock and bond markets by cutting rates significantly over the next 12 months.
That’s even if officials do keep rates unchanged in December.
“At a time when it’s flying with only one eye open, the Fed decided that the softening in the labor market is a bigger concern than the stickiness of inflation,” said Jack McIntyre at Brandywine Global.
“What makes less sense is the odd range of dissents. This divergence means less complacency in financial markets, more volatility, and more two-way flows.”
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, the biggest question now is: which side of the dual mandate will the Fed focus on — the weakening labor market or persistent inflation?
Inflation could very well keep the Fed from moving as quickly or aggressively as they’d like to head off further weakness in the labor market, but that task becomes even more difficult without key economic updates, he said.
“If a December rate cut is ‘far from’ a foregone conclusion as Chair Powell stated, will that have investors hitting the brakes on the market’s recent run? Earnings will play a large role over the next several days, but we could see some profit taking after a powerful run,” Kenwell noted.
As long as earnings growth remains strong and the consumer remains resilient, pullbacks could lead to a compelling buying opportunity, he says.
“That’s as the shallow, short-lived dips over the last few months have left plenty of cash-heavy investors on the sideline waiting for a more enticing buying opportunity to emerge,” he concluded.
While the upward momentum in large-cap technology and growth continues, the diverging breadth and underperformance in small- and mid-cap stocks raise some concerns, according to Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler.
“Investors must remain vigilant within the current uptrend, especially as volatility will likely increase with earnings results and Fed commentary,” he said.
“When we look at this setup against overbought chart conditions which extend across multiple time frames, it continues to imply the potential for elevated volatility into year-end 2025,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
While Wantrobski is still looking for the S&P 500 to hit the 7,000 mark this year – with an intermediate-term target toward 7,400 – he notes that markets are still vulnerable to “air pockets, some of which could prove pretty nasty.”
“November may be a target, despite its reputation as one of the best months for stocks,” he said.
Technology’s weight in the S&P 500 has been trending higher since the 1970s, and the sector currently makes up a record share of the index, according to Rob Anderson at Ned Davis Research.
Relative to the long-term trend, the move looks less extreme compared to 2000, he noted.
However, the reading is still well into the top quintile of all observations, consistent with sector underperformance one, three, five, and 10-years later, on average.
“It often pays to go against the crowd when sentiment reaches an extreme” and then reverses, which has not yet occurred, he said. “However, the reading suggests risk is elevated for the sector,” Anderson said.

Corporate Highlights:
* EBay Inc. gave a profit forecast for the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate, stoking investor concerns about narrowing margins heading into the holiday shopping season.
* Starbucks Corp. posted positive same-store sales growth for the first time in over a year, an early sign the coffee chain’s turnaround efforts are gaining traction.
* Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. cut its full-year projection for a third time this year, as diners pulled back from eating out amid heightened economic pressure.
* Caterpillar Inc. posted stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue on the back of surging demand from AI data centers for its power-generation equipment.
* Boeing Co. announced a $4.9 billion accounting charge and delayed debut for its 777X jetliner, a reminder of the long recovery ahead for the US planemaker even as rising aircraft deliveries bolster its cash.
** Boeing is laying plans to push production of its 787 Dreamliner to new heights, testing its ability to clear an inventory of parked planes and the strength of its strapped supply chain.
* Kraft Heinz Co. lowered its sales outlook as its chief executive officer said that the feeling of US shoppers has fallen to historic a low.
* Verizon Communications Inc. reported a loss in wireless phone subscribers in the third quarter as a new chief executive officer laid out an aggressive growth strategy to reclaim market share.
* CVS Health Corp. raised its 2025 profit guidance for a third time in less than six months, a sign that it’s set a new foundation a year into Chief Executive Officer David Joyner’s tenure following challenges in its insurance business.
* Fiserv Inc. plunged after the fintech slashed its outlook for full-year earnings and unveiled third-quarter results that confounded Wall Street analysts.
* Paramount Skydance Corp. began a planned round of job cuts involving 1,000 workers on Wednesday as part of an effort to slash $2 billion in costs following its August merger with Skydance Media. More cuts are expected at a later date.
* Centene Corp.’s third-quarter profit surpassed Wall Street expectations and the health insurer raised its outlook, a potential sign of relief for investors after the company’s profit view collapsed earlier this year.
* Caesars Entertainment Inc., a major operator of resort casinos, reported third-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
* Edison International’s executives said the company’s equipment will likely be found to be associated with triggering the deadly Eaton Fire in Los Angeles.
* Uber Technologies Inc. is preparing to offer driverless rides on vehicles developed by Lucid Group Inc. and Nuro Inc. in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time next year, thrusting the company into direct competition with Waymo’s robotaxi service.
* Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to acquire Clario Holdings Inc., a privately held maker of drug trial software, for about $8.9 billion in cash.
* Online marketplace Etsy Inc. will elevate Chief Growth Officer Kruti Patel Goyal to the CEO job, entrusting the company veteran with navigating the artificial intelligence era and lifting the marketplace out of a post-pandemic slowdown.
* Airbus SE is keeping its ambitious jet delivery target, setting the company up for a furious production pace to close out the year, after reporting strong quarterly earnings on the back of the defense and space unit.
* UBS Group AG results failed to dispel investor anxiety about risks from previously canceled Credit Suisse bonds, the potential impact of Swiss capital reforms and the lender’s involvement in the First Brands bankruptcy, overshadowing a set of earnings that broadly beat expectations.
* Deutsche Bank AG exceeded analyst estimates for fixed-income trading, giving tailwind to Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing just a couple of weeks before he presents a new strategy.
* Banco Santander SA posted third-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates as profit jumped in the US and provisions for souring loans remained contained.
* GSK Plc raised its profit and sales forecasts for the year, aided by its HIV and immunology medicines, in Emma Walmsley’s last report as chief executive officer.
* Mercedes-Benz Group AG confirmed its annual outlook and plans to proceed with a €2 billion ($2.3 billion) share buyback after the company’s automaking margin climbed in the third quarter.
* SK Hynix Inc. reported a 62% jump in profit and revealed it’s sold its entire memory chip lineup for next year, illustrating how a global AI infrastructure buildout is ratcheting up sector- wide demand.
* Indonesia’s GoTo Group raised its earnings forecast for the year, a sign that new initiatives and cost cuts to cope with fierce competition in the ride-hailing and delivery market are paying off.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Chair Jerome Powell’s comment about a ‘growing chorus’ favoring the Fed stepping to the sidelines amid the uncertain economic outlook suggests there was more hawkish sentiment behind the scenes at Wednesday’s meeting than just a single dissent in favor of a pause.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.1596
* The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.3187
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 152.84 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2% to $110,613.01
* Ether fell 1.7% to $3,910.89
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced nine basis points to 4.07%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.62%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.39%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced 11 basis points to 3.60%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 4.61%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $60.36 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,942.42 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Shima
“The aeroplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth.”– Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Shima Zangeneh
Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff
Queensbury Securities Inc.

340A – 730 View Street
Victoria BC  V8W 3Y7
Tel: 778-430-5851
Fax: 778-430-5828