Dear Friends,
Tangents: Step into 2026 with Confidence and Growth ✨
Carolann is away from the office. I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.
December 31, 1600 – Royal Charter for the East India Company – Queen Elizabeth I grants a royal charter to the East India Company, paving the way for British trade expansion into Asia. Jagranjosh.com
December 31, 1857 – Ottawa chosen as Canadian Capital – Britain’s Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada. Go to article
December 31, 1879 – Edison’s Lightbulb Demonstration – Thomas Edison publicly demonstrates his incandescent light bulb in Menlo Park, New Jersey, marking a major milestone in electric lighting. Jagranjosh.com
December 31, 1904 – First Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration – New York’s Times Square holds its inaugural New Year’s Eve celebration, with large crowds gathering to ring in the new year. HISTORY
December 31, 1999 – Panama Canal Turnover – Control of the Panama Canal is officially transferred from the United States to Panama after nearly a century of American administration. HISTORY
Henri Matisse – French painter and leader of the Fauvist movement, b. 1869.
John Denver – American singer‑songwriter famous for Take Me Home, Country Roads, b. 1943.
Donna Summer – American singer‑songwriter and “Queen of Disco,” known for hits like Last Dance, b. 1948.
Psy (Park Jae‑sang) – South Korean singer and global hitmaker known for Gangnam Style, b. 1977.
Patrick Chan – Canadian figure skater and Olympic medallist, b. 1990.
Should humans colonize other planets?
As space travel advances, colonization of other planets edges closer to reality. But should we spread to other parts of the galaxy?
Full moons of 2026: When to see all 13 moons (including a Blue Moon and a Blood Moon) rise next year
When does the next full moon rise? Find out exactly when to see the full moons of 2026, including the full "Wolf Moon" supermoon in January.
Live Science’s health channel editor makes predictions about the medical breakthroughs and public health shifts to come in 2026.
Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week: How to see the first ‘shooting’ stars of the year
The Quadrantids will be harder to see than usual due to the bright full moon. Here’s how to get the best views.
A researcher has documented a cleft lip in an ancient, mummified head from the Andes, a condition that may have been seen as a "blessing" rather than a disability.
Scientists are discovering that clumping clouds supercharge storms in surprising ways — driving heavy, deadly rainfall and flooding
Where to travel in 2026: The best places to visit
Whether you’re a full-time nomad or a once-a-year vacationer, every special travel memory begins with one essential question: where to?
Why ‘Auld Lang Syne’ still unites the world at midnight
As “Auld Lang Syne” takes its annual spin around the globe on New Year’s Eve, its chorus belted out by revelers young and old, Edinburgh’s Poet Laureate Michael Pedersen says the song’s enduring power lies not in tradition alone, but in its uncanny ability to bind people together.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Hong Kong
The Po Lin monastery and Tian Tan Buddha rise above the treetops
Photograph: Hong Kong tourism board/PA/PA
Michigan, US
Ice covers the north pier outer lighthouse at Tiscornia Park in St Joseph
Photograph: Joel Bissell/AP
Knutsford, UK
A group of wild swimmers raising money for Cancer Research
Market Closes for December 31st, 2025
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
48063.29 | -303.77 |
| -0.63% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6845.50 | -50.74 |
| -0.74% | ||
| NASDAQ | 23241.99 | -177.09 |
| -0.76% | ||
| TSX | 31712.76 | -153.50 |
| -0.48% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 50339.48 | -187.44 |
| -0.37% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25630.54 | -224.06 |
| -0.87% | ||
| SENSEX | 85220.63 | +545.55 |
| +0.64% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 9931.38 | -9.33 |
| -0.09% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.432 | 3.412 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.861 | 3.834 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.1670 | 4.1219 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8436 | 4.8070 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7287 | 0.7301 |
| US $ |
1.3721 | 1.3695 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6204 | 1.6117 |
| US $ |
0.8513 | 1.1745 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4367.80 | 4337.05 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 57.95 | 57.95 |
Market Commentary:
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the fourth day, dropping 0.5%, or 153.5 to 31,712.76 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.7% on Dec. 16.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.4%.
Endeavour Silver Corp. had the largest drop, falling 3.9%.
Today, 138 of 218 shares fell, while 79 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 28%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 5.6%
* This month, the index rose 1.1%
* The index advanced 28% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.2% below its 52-week high on Dec. 22, 2025 and 42.7% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9% in the past 5 days and rose 1.1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.6 on a trailing basis and 19.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.07t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.81% compared with 10.66% in the previous session and the average of 13.31% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | -49.9629| -0.9| 13/43
Financials | -38.0169| -0.4| 8/16
Information Technology | -34.5680| -1.1| 0/10
Energy | -18.4979| -0.4| 7/30
Industrials | -18.3148| -0.5| 9/20
Consumer Discretionary | -2.6866| -0.3| 3/6
Health Care | -0.4355| -0.5| 1/3
Real Estate | -0.0082| 0.0| 15/4
Utilities | 1.8711| 0.2| 13/1
Consumer Staples | 1.9320| 0.2| 7/3
Communication Services | 5.1882| 0.8| 3/2
Shopify | -27.4300| -1.4| -36.0| 44.5
RBC | -9.9060| -0.4| -49.1| 35.0
Barrick Mining | -9.4330| -1.3| -54.1| 168.2
Cameco | 1.6120| 0.4| -49.4| 70.0
Telus | 2.3800| 1.2| -39.8| -7.2
BCE | 2.8670| 1.4| -27.8| -1.7
Energy Fuels | 2.2| 0.6960| -27.0| 169.0
G. Mining | Ventures | 1.5| 0.6880| -72.4| 284.2
BCE | 1.4| 2.8670| -27.8| -1.7
Endeavour Silver| -3.9| -1.0690| -30.1| 145.0
Aya Gold & Silver | -3.0| -0.5570| -14.4| 82.9
Vizsla Silver | -2.6| -0.4830| -64.9| 209.5
MT Newswires:
Canada’s main stock market closed out what was otherwise a record breaking 2025 with a fourth straight session loss Wednesday, as movements on the resources heavy Toronto Stock Exchange largely mirrored those in commodities, a trend that is likely to continue in to the new year.
On this New Year’s Eve, the TSX was down 153.50 points or 0.5% at 31,712.76.
It closed lower each session since before the Christmas holiday, after setting a record close of 32,058.73 on Dec. 23, 2025.
But according to Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet, the TSX went in to today’s session month-to-date up 1.54% and year-to-date up 7,138.32 points or 28.87%.
It was up 27.12% from the Inauguration Day close of 25,067.92 on Monday, Jan 20, 2025.
Most sectors were down today, but by less than 1%.
The Battery Metals Index rose 1.8%.
Of commodities, The Wall Street Journal noted precious metal futures finished a record setting 2025 with a losing session, as gold slipped 1% and silver dropped 9.4%.
But for the year, gold jumped 64% to US$4,325.60 a troy ounce while silver surged 142% to $70.134 a troy ounce.
Both had the biggest percentage climbs since 1979, and for gold it’s the third straight year of settling with gains.
For silver, it’s the second straight year of gains.
Macro indicators were the drivers for precious metals in December, which looks to continue into January, said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities in a note Meanwhile, The WSJ noted oil futures slipped into the red as they close out the year with their sharpest annual losses since 2020.
It said concerns about oversupply with OPEC+ unwinding output cuts and non-OPEC producers raising production outweighed frequent spikes in geopolitical risk premium.
It added risks remain going into 2026 with continuing strikes in the Russia-Ukraine war amid peace efforts, U.S. measures to block Venezuela’s oil trade, and tensions in the Middle East.
"The peace agreement will remain the attention of most traders, in that if no agreement is reached, the attacks are likely to escalate," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial is cited as saying in a note.
"Current global supplies and storage remain ample, and holiday travel demand will wind down this week."
WTI settled off 0.9% at US$57.42 a barrel, down 20% on the year.
Brent fell 0.8% to $60.85 for an 18% annual decline.
On the outlook for oil and gas, TPH Energy Research on Wednesday published two notes to cover its ‘2025 Midstream Recap and 2026 Themes’.
In its first note, TPH said in starting with 2025, its forced ranking for the year was TC Energy (TRP.TO), DTM, KMI, and ET.
TPH noted that ranking was focused on gas-focused midstream companies that it believed had the best opportunity to capture demand.
That demand could include data centers, general power growth, LNG, and industrial.
It noted that year to date, TRP was up 14%.
Looking ahead, TPH thinks pipeline valuations could continue to climb as "competition for space on already in-the-ground pipelines remains fierce amid growing demand".
Its force ranking going into 2026 is TRP, WMB, DTM.
TPH in a separate note, noted the startup of LNG Canada was a much-awaited
tailwind for growing gas supplies, with both Pembina (PPL.TO) and Keyera (KEY.TO) poised to capture growth.
"However," it said, "the ramp did not quite materialize as expected, with the facility facing a handful of operational issues resulting in lower feedgas demand, although we remain optimistic on the facility hitting full run-rate in early 2026." Aside from LNG Canada, TPH thinks early 2026 will be "somewhat of a continuation of what we saw in 2025," with concerns of a deteriorating crude environment weighing on equities and investors focusing on higher-quality names and those coming out of heavier capex cycles, which should open up potential for increased buybacks.
US
By Andre Janse van Vuuren, Isabelle Lee and Rheaa Rao (Bloomberg)
Stocks and bonds slipped along with gold and silver on the last day of 2025 — ending an otherwise buoyant year on a down note.
The S&P 500 extended a stretch of post-Christmas losses, paring the benchmark’s advance for 2025 to roughly 16%.
Even so, the index gained for three consecutive years, its longest winning streak since 2021.
The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.8% on Wednesday.
Silver plunged as a run of heightened volatility featuring price moves of 5% or more entered a fourth day.
CME Group raised margin requirements on precious-metal futures for the second time in the space of a week following the volatility.
Investors have enjoyed blockbuster returns this year in a market that has been powered by optimism about the vast economic potential of artificial intelligence and primed by Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
It hasn’t been a smooth ride, though, with traders weathering swings triggered by a range of forces including US trade policies, geopolitical tensions, concern over lofty valuations and some uncertainty around the path of central-bank monetary policy.
Looking ahead into 2026, market research firm Bespoke Investment Group cautions against expecting solid market performance during the first trading day of the new year.
Since 1953, the S&P 500’s median change to kick off a new year was a 0.3% drop, according to a note by Bespoke.
The stock market has also traded lower on the first trading day of the each of the past three years, the note said.
Beyond Stocks
Among other asset classes, US Treasuries posted their strongest year of returns since 2020.
Crypto, meanwhile, has been the big outlier, with Bitcoin suffering a loss for the year after erasing an earlier rally that had sent it to a record in October.
“Describing 2025 as ‘resilient’ might be an understatement,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.
“The economy showed remarkable strength by overcoming higher inflation, a slowing labor market, fewer rate cuts than originally expected, and a sharp rise in the effective tariff rate.
Despite these challenges, growth remained steady without slipping into recession.”
The year’s momentum has faded in the final days of December, with traders delaying big decisions until after the holiday period, having already banked strong returns.
“After an excellent year in equity markets, and with positioning close to highs in late November, portfolio and fund managers may have been closing their bets and realigning them to benchmark,” said Roberto Scholtes, head of strategy at Singular Bank.
“Our base case is for the bull run to continue, albeit with more volatility and resulting in mid-single digit returns.”
Gold and silver fell at the end of their best year since the 1970s.
Copper had its best year since 2009, fueled by near- term supply tightness and bets that demand for the metal key in electrification will outpace production.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“2025 was the year when diversification finally paid off.
Equities delivered, but metals took the crown on erosion of confidence and a repricing of policy risk.”
—Brendan Fagan, Macro Strategist, Markets Live
There was little market movement even after the release of US jobless claims data on Wednesday.
Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to one of the lowest levels this year.
Initial claims decreased by 16,000 to 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday.
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 218,000 applications.
Treasuries ticked lower, with the 10-year yield climbing to 4.17%.
The dollar was little changed after a three-day stretch of wins.
Still, the greenback recorded its weakest year since 2017, with investors saying more declines are coming if the next chief of the Fed opts for deeper interest-rate cuts than currently expected.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin traded near $87,584.
The digital currency has settled into a range of roughly $85,000 to $95,000 following a crash in October that has put it on pace for a first annual loss in three years.
After kicking off 2025 with a rally that was spurred by optimism about the crypto-friendly policies of the second Trump administration, Bitcoin was hit by the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs.
Oil closed out the year with its steepest annual loss since 2020 as the market confronts wide-ranging geopolitical risks and steadily rising supplies across the globe.
Corporate News:
* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. plans to once again reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance Corp., according to people familiar with the company’s thinking. Among the board’s concerns, Paramount has yet to increase its offer, which Warner Bros. earlier rejected as inferior to Netflix’s offer.
* Corcept Therapeutics Inc. shares fell after US regulators rejected the company’s drug to treat a form of high blood pressure.
* Coinstar LLC, the coin-exchange and cryptocurrency business owned by Apollo Global Management Inc., plans to repay bondholders next month as part of its surprise sale to a company that oversees investments for natives of Alaska’s far north
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4:02 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1751
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3480
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 156.65 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $87,584.64
* Ether rose 0.2% to $2,970.88
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.17%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.85%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.48%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $57.43 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,311.88 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Macarena Muñoz.
Have a wonderful new year.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Shima"
If you can step back and take a longer time horizon, that is the big secret."– Joel Greenblatt
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