Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

October 30, 1888: John J. Loud obtains the first patent for a ball-point pen, laying the groundwork for modern writing instruments.
October 30, 2003 Lebron James made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Go to article

John Adams, 2^nd President, b. 1735.
Fyodor Dostoievski, writer, b. 1821.
Emily Post, writer, b. 1872.
Ezra Pound, poet, b. 1885.

Archaeologists in Hungary have found the 1,300-year-old burial of a warrior who was buried with a rare iron saber. Read More.

A gene on the X chromosome revs up inflammation in the female brain, which may explain why rates of multiple sclerosis are higher in women than in men, scientists suggest.  Read More.

Researchers have unearthed two dinosaur “mummies” in the badlands of Wyoming, confirming duck-billed dinosaurs had hooves, alongside a string of other discoveries. Read More.

Researchers have developed a chemical structure for an artificial muscle that can lift up to 4,000 times its weight, and they say it could be used in future humanoid robots. Read More.

WWI soldiers’ messages in a bottle found over 100 years later
The messages dated 1916 were found wet on an Australian beach, but the writing remained legible. See the letters here.
MLB World Series Game 5
Rookie Trey Yesavage’s historic start helped the Toronto Blue Jays soar to a commanding 3-2 lead in the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The gloves are (almost) back on
After 10 years, a blockbuster rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is “almost” agreed, Pacquiao said, confirming the two camps are “in negotiations.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The amazing world of fungi
Physcia jackii and Teloschistes sieberianus-Australia
Photography: Stephen Axford

Whitley Bay, UK
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, glow in the sky over St Mary’s Lighthouse on the north-east coast of England
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Encinitas, US
A boy runs with his dogs as the sun sets along Cardiff state beach in California
Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Market Closes for October 30th , 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Plant the tree, and let it grow.  -T .Rowe Price.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.1% at 30,178.98 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.9%.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.0%.
Bausch Health Cos. had the largest increase, rising 12.5%.
Today, 105 of 214 shares rose, while 105 fell; 4 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 22%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 0.5%
* So far this week, the index fell 0.6%
* The index advanced 23% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2% below its 52-week high on Oct. 15, 2025 and 35.8% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 0.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.4 on a trailing basis and 18.7 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$4.81t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.89% compared with 12.93% in the previous session and the average of 9.92% over the past month

Index Points
Materials | 82.8073| 1.7| 36/14
Consumer Staples | 8.2884| 0.8| 7/4
Industrials | 1.4085| 0.0| 13/16
Health Care | 1.3392| 1.6| 2/2
Energy | -0.0740| 0.0| 16/23
Consumer Discretionary | -0.9184| -0.1| 2/7
Utilities | -1.2293| -0.1| 5/9
Communication Services | -3.9421| -0.6| 2/3
Real Estate | -4.6136| -0.9| 5/12
Financials | -13.9643| -0.1| 14/9
Information Technology | -34.8952| -1.0| 3/6
Agnico Eagle Mines | Ltd | 30.4200| 4.0| 38.9| 102.3
Barrick Mining | 18.7100| 3.5| -16.7| 107.6
Constellation | Software | 18.5100| 3.9| 32.8| -19.3
Nutrien | -9.1830| -3.4| -36.4| 18.2
Brookfield Corp | -13.4100| -1.4| 68.1| 16.2
Shopify | -57.6300| -2.7| 0.4| 58.8
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed with a small gain Thursday, continuing a recent pattern of fluctuating between up and down days as investors look for positive news from the Canadian government on trade issues, not least those around critical minerals supply deals, while also eyeing a Federal budget coming on Tuesday that is likely to feature an increased fiscal deficit.
The resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 34.20 points to 30,178.98, having dropped nearly 275 points on Wednesday.
Sectors were mixed, with gainers including the Battery Metals Index (up 2.2%) and Health Care (up 1.5%), and losers led by Base Metals (down near 1.2%).
On trade, the Canadian Press reported Canada is heading up talks to establish a G7 critical mineral production alliance in what’s widely seen as a bid to check China’s reign over a supply chain key to everything from wind turbines to fighter jets.
It cited Federal energy minister Tim Hodgson saying the critical minerals pact will look at countering market manipulation and price volatility in the sector.
The alliance “demonstrates that competitiveness and conscience can, and must, coexist,” Hodgson said as he opened two-day talks with G7 energy and environment ministers in Toronto.
Hodgson’s statement was tamer his comments two days ago, when he seemed to indicate Canada was close to securing critical-mineral supply deals as he told Reuters in an interview: “We will see this week many examples of us moving beyond talks to firm commitments to fund several types of tools (to secure critical minerals).”
He added: “What you will see on Friday is a number of concrete announcements demonstrating that a multilateral approach to securing supply chains and energy supplies works.”
Market watchers will be looking to see what is delivered by the government on this front tomorrow.
Beyond this, Prime Minister Mark Carney has already signaled the fiscal deficit will be higher than the last estimates unveiled by the governing Liberals, then under the leadership of Justin Trudeau.
Interim parliamentary budget officer Jason Jacques said the deficit will rise to nearly $70 billion for this fiscal year.
Of commodities, gold prices had firmed above the US$4,000-mark late afternoon Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut a day earlier, even as the central bank signaled it is likely to pause further easing this year.
Gold for December delivery was last seen up $35.20 to $4,035.90 per ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed with a small gain on optimism around recovering global growth after the United States and China reached a trade deal and the Federal lowered interest rates.
WTI crude oil for December delivery closed up $0.09 to settle at US$60.57 per barrel, while December Brent crude was last seen up $0.09 to US$65.01.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street pumped the brakes on a stock rally as concerns over whether massive artificial-intelligence spending will pay off sent Meta Platforms Inc. down 11%.
Bond yields and the dollar rose as the Federal Reserve tempered rate- cut expectations.
A selloff in several mega caps dragged down the S&P 500, following a $17 trillion surge from its April lows.
While the US and China agreed on a trade truce, the deal was seen as mostly priced in.
Meantime, equities triggered a “Hindenburg Omen” – a technical indicator that occurs when a bifurcated market loses momentum amid lackluster breadth.
Those developments gave some reasons for stocks to take a breather amid warnings about valuations and a narrowing of participation that had spurred a significant outperformance of mega caps.
The AI trade is so essential to the bull market that any updates on spending and progress developing the technology could quickly sway traders one way or the other.
“None of this means that the AI bubble is going to burst and that we’re on the cusp of a major reversal in the stock market,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.
“However, it does raise the odds that we could see a short-term pullback.”
Meta sold $30 billion of bonds amid record orders.
Microsoft Corp. slid on underwhelming results.
Alphabet Inc. climbed on a revenue beat.
Nvidia Corp. dropped as Donald Trump said he didn’t discuss approving sales of Blackwell chips to China with Xi Jinping.
In late hours, Apple Inc. reported strong overall sales, though revenue in China fell short of estimates.
Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud unit posted a solid growth rate.
Netflix Inc. approved a 10-for-1 stock split.
The S&P 500 fell 1%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 4.09%.
The dollar hit a three-month high.
Bitcoin sank.
The largest technology companies are betting on an AI future powered by gigantic data centers filled with humming servers.
Now that the staggering cost of this push is coming into sharper focus, it’s testing nerves on Wall Street.
Three bellwethers from different corners of the technology world – Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft — together racked up some $78 billion in capital expenditures last quarter.
That’s up 89% from a year earlier.
“The only takeaway that investors care about from big tech earnings is evidence of which company can stay in the AI race the longest,” said David Trainer at New Constructs.
“None of these companies can keep up this huge spending on AI forever, and so those that find a way to profit first and the most from AI will be the winners.”
While more than “enough good news” is priced into stocks thanks to AI excitement, Trainer expects a pullback on the horizon.
“We maintain our conviction that AI-related stocks should drive further equity performance and believe that under- allocated investors should add exposure to the theme through a diversified approach,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
On the trade front, Trump and Xi agreed to extend a tariff truce, roll back export controls and reduce other trade barriers in a landmark summit on Thursday, potentially stabilizing relations between the world’s biggest economies after months of turmoil.
The outcome is poised to resolve — at least for now — months of trade brinkmanship in which the US and China threatened a series of levies and export controls on their products that had the potential to disrupt global supply chains and hurt the world economy.
Still, it falls short of a comprehensive agreement that addresses issues at the heart of the US-China economic competition.
“The much-anticipated US-China trade agreement showed both sides willing to step away from recent escalations, but not willing to stand down from a longer-term competition,” said Paul Christopher at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
He views the deal as lowering tariffs just enough to help China stay competitive with other Asian countries in manufacturing trade.
While the US gets a reprieve on China’s block against rare-earth metals and US soybean imports.
“Probably the most important part of the deal is that the US backs away from additional technology restrictions on Chinese tech companies,” Christopher said.
“The deal puts pressure on US tech companies to stay ahead of Chinese competitors and on US policy makers to continue the search for alternative rare-earth metals suppliers.”
Markets had largely anticipated the US-China deal, according to Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.
“Still, the easing of one of the major geopolitical uncertainties should be a welcome sign for risk assets,” he said.
Sentiment has cooled slightly since equities hit record highs on the back of AI enthusiasm, he noted, but the downside limited for the time being.
Meantime, traders continued to digest Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s blunt warning that investors need to rein in expectations for a December rate cut – underscoring a growing tug-of-war among US policymakers who are opposed in their outlooks for jobs and inflation.
His comments came after officials voted 10-2 to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday.
It was the second straight rate cut, but for the first time in six years, there were dissents in both directions — with one official advocating a larger reduction and another preferring to stay on hold.
“Why it was hawkish? Because the moderates are pushing back,” said Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities.
“So, if the Fed does not go in December, the bar of employment gets raised and expect fewer cuts next year.”
“Investors are left to read the tea leaves and listen to upcoming comments from Fed officials to determine whether rates will be reduced at the Fed’s next meeting in December,” said Chris Fasciano at Commonwealth Financial Network.
In the short term, this lack of clarity could trigger a pause or mild pullback in the market, particularly following several months of exceptional gains during what’s typically a volatile period, according to Todd Morgan at Bel Air Investment Advisors.
“But I don’t expect any decline to be substantial,” Morgan said.
“Once investors digest the Fed’s messaging and the uncertainty clears, I anticipate markets will trend higher into year-end and the early part of next year.”
In the meantime, Commonwealth’s Fasciano believes corporate earnings remain a positive story for investors and should be supportive for markets.
Bulls have history on their side, as November kicks off the best six months of the year for US equities.
But the question is whether those year-end gains have already been priced into the market following one of the S&P 500’s best six-month stretches since the 1950s.
“With uncertainty around Fed policy going forward and the ongoing government shutdown, there is the potential for volatility,” he said.
“But companies across a large swath of the economy continue to report solid earnings.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Nvidia Corp. plans to invest as much as $1 billion in the artificial intelligence company Poolside, according to people familiar with the matter — part of a deal that would quadruple the valuation of the AI startup.
* Palantir Technologies Inc. sued two former senior artificial intelligence engineers, claiming they stole documents and information to help launch a “copycat” competitor, Percepta.
* Mastercard Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as consumer and corporate spending remained robust.
* Coinbase Global Inc., the largest US crypto exchange, reported revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter estimates.
* Reddit Inc. projected fourth-quarter sales that beat analysts’ expectations, a sign that its advertising business will continue to grow at a steady clip a year-and-a-half after going public.
* Gilead Sciences Inc. reported third-quarter product sales that missed expectations as the steady growth of key HIV drugs wasn’t enough to offset declines in its Covid and cell therapy treatments.
* Eli Lilly & Co. raised its full-year guidance as revenue from its blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs beat expectations in the third quarter and it began solidifying its lead over its biggest rival.
* Merck & Co. shaved the top end of its 2025 revenue guidance and failed to produce any standout sales beats for its medicines in the third quarter, adding to challenges the drugmaker is facing as it prepares for the loss of its star cancer drug Keytruda.
* Bristol Myers Squibb Co. raised its revenue outlook for the year after newer medicines outperformed expectations, easing pressure on its portfolio of aging blockbusters.
* Biogen Inc. cut its full-year profit guidance on higher costs from deals the company has been doing to offset the decline of its aging multiple sclerosis drugs.
* Turnaround efforts at Estée Lauder Cos. are gaining momentum despite rising costs and concerns about consumer spending.
* Core Scientific Inc. shareholders rejected a takeover bid by Core Weave Inc. that proxy advisers said undervalued the data center company, ending a contentious monthslong saga.
* Comcast Corp. reported its 10th straight quarter of losses in broadband customers and said it doesn’t expect the trend to turn around soon.
* Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates, a sign shoppers may be starting to move past the economic uncertainty that hurt results earlier this year even as overall sentiment remains weak.
* Crocs Inc. warned that US consumers were increasingly cautious despite reporting better than expected earnings.
* Hershey Co. called out disappointing Halloween sales so far in the US but still upped its annual outlook thanks to price hikes.
* Roblox Corp. reported widening losses in the third quarter as costs at the video-game company increased during a period of soaring user engagement.
* Cigna Group’s pledge to upend the way medicine is priced spooked Wall Street after the company warned the move would hurt profits in the next two years.
* Altria Group Inc.’s pivot away from cigarettes stumbled in the third quarter as demand slowed for its smokeless products.
* American International Group Inc. agreed to buy stakes in specialty insurer Convex Group and alternative asset manager Onex Corp. in transactions that total more than $2.7 billion.
* Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. named South Korean steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc. as its new strategic partner, identifying the firm behind a deal touted 10 days ago by the American steel producer.
* Elon Musk’s SpaceX has proposed a faster way to take astronauts to the moon’s surface, following NASA criticism over delays with the company’s rocket development as the US races China to the lunar surface.
** Globalstar Inc. is exploring a potential sale and has held early talks with SpaceX among other potential suitors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 2.7%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1565
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3147
* The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 154.06 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.4% to $106,600.48
* Ether fell 6.4% to $3,697.78
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.09%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.64%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.42%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.60%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.64%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $60.25 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 2.4% to $4,025.38 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. –C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963.

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