Dear Friends,
Tangents:
April 21, 1960: Brasilia is inaugurated as Brazil’s new capital, a radical nation-building project in city planning and infrastructure.
April 21, 1980: Rosie Ruiz, the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, was disqualified when officials discovered she had jumped into the race about a mile from the finish. Go to article.
April 21, 1837: First kindergarten established.
Charlotte Bront writer, b. 1816.
Iggy Pop, vocalist, b. 1947.
Listen to Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life.” He turns 79 today.
Our 60-minute hour comes from ancient Babylonian math. Their base-60 system was so practical that it still shapes how we divide time and angles thousands of years later.
| ‘We’re the best servants anyone could dream of!’: AI superintelligence has no need to enslave humans because we’re already bowing to it |
A future AI would have no need to rid the world of humanity because we’re incredibly useful. But if it did want to shrug us off, this is how it would likely play out. Read more.
| Did King Arthur really exist? |
The stories about King Arthur are almost certainly false or greatly exaggerated, but did the man himself exist? Read more.
| Bruce the parrot is missing his upper beak — but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming an undefeated jousting champion |
A kea parrot in New Zealand who lost the top part of his beak when young has developed a new way to fight other males that has made him unbeatable. Read more.
Boston Marathon winners
John Korir, the defending champion, shattered the competition Monday with the fifth-fastest marathon ever. Sharon Lokedi also repeated as champion, winning the women’s race for a second straight year.
A rare chimpanzee ‘civil war’ is happening
A once large and peaceful group of chimpanzees in Uganda has now split into two, causing a rare "civil war" among the primates.
‘Big tech or families?’
Around 60 parents are heading to Capitol Hill this week in a renewed push for online safety laws, hoping to build on the momentum of court wins against social media companies last month.
| A giant ‘shadow’ has been creeping across Mars for 50 years — and scientists aren’t sure why |
A dark patch in Mars’ Utopia Planitia region has grown significantly since it was first photographed in 1976. Scientists have a loose understanding of what it is, but they can’t properly explain its gradual growth. Read more.
Late night hosts speculated about Kash Patel’s future.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Tokyo, Japan
Shinto priests perform a purification ritual during the annual spring festival at the Yasukuni shrine
Photograph: Franck Robichon/EP
Bogot Colombia
Cyclists ride past a traffic jam at sunset in the Colombian capital
Photograph: Pablo Vera/AFP/Getty Images
Out for a morning walk, seven goslings and their parents stroll along the bank of the Main in Frankfurt, Germany
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Market Closes for April 21st, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
49149.38 | -293.18 |
| -0.59% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7064.01 | -45.13 |
| -0.63% | ||
| NASDAQ | 24259.96 | -144.43 |
| -0.59% | ||
| TSX | 33808.30 | -551.73 |
| -1.61% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 59349.17 | +524.28 |
| +0.89% | ||
| HANG SENG |
26487.48 | +126.41 |
| +0.48% | ||
| SEN SEX | 79273.33 | +753.03 |
| +0.96% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10498.09 | -110.99 |
| -1.05% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.483 | 3.439 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.900 | 3.872 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.2916 | 4.2510 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8999 | 4.8786 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7319 | 0.7329 |
| US $ |
1.3662 | 1.3644 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6235 | 1.6037 |
| US $ |
0.8518 | 1.1739 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4813.55 | 4870.50 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 92.13 | 89.61 |
Market Commentary:
| On this day in 1982, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 index become available for the first time. Fund managers could buy either the underlying stocks in the index or a futures contract, whichever was cheaper. Program traders using futures to manage risk worsened the single sharpest stock-market crash ever just five years later. |
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.6% at 33,808.30 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.7% on March 20 and follows the previous session’s little change.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 6.1%.
Novagold Resources Inc. had the largest drop, falling 13.3%.
Today, 158 of 220 shares fell, while 60 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss nine times. The next day, it advanced eight times for an average 1% and declined 1.4% once
* This month, the index rose 3.2%
* The index advanced 41% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 37% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.1% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 41.9% above its low on April 21, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9% in the past 5 days and rose 8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.3 on a trailing basis and 16.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.43t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 17.28% compared with 16.49% in the previous session and the average of 18.05% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | -363.7419| -5.4| 6/54
Financials | -100.7486| -0.9| 5/19
Information Technology| -51.5446| -1.9| 4/5
Utilities | -16.7871| -1.4| 2/12
Industrials | -15.2407| -0.4| 8/21
Consumer Discretionary| -9.4335| -0.9| 2/7
Real Estate | -4.3952| -0.9| 2/16
Communication Services| -2.3579| -0.4| 1/4
Health Care | -2.0577| -2.2| 1/3
Consumer Staples | 4.6852| 0.4| 5/5
Energy | 9.8862| 0.2| 24/12
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -63.0100| -6.1| 94.2| 19.2
Shopify | -45.8500| -2.9| -24.0| -18.9
Barrick Mining | -39.3000| -5.7| -4.8| -7.4
Cenovus | 9.2890| 2.9| -12.9| 50.7
Suncor | 13.5000| 1.9| -7.7| 40.7
Canadian Natural Resources | 22.1600| 2.6| 0.4| 30.2
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange slumped on Tuesday on some profit taking after a recent strong run gains and amid market nerves ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled expiration of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 551.73 points, or 1.6%, to 33,808.30, with all sectors bar one lower as Energy, rose 1.9% on elevated oil prices.
Base Metals was the biggest loser, down 3.8%, not helped by a deflated gold price.
The TSX was up in 12 of the prior 14 sessions leading into today.
Investor focus appears to be on the current U.S.-Iran ceasefire, which went into effect on April 8, but is set to expire "Wednesday evening Washington time," according to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The president told Bloomberg in an interview he is "highly unlikely" to extend the ceasefire if no deal is reached with Iran.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance was supposed to depart earlier today for the next round of negotiations in Pakistan but he has, reportedly, since gone to the White House for policy meetings. Details around his planned departure are now unclear.
The Wall Street Journal reported Iran is refusing to attend negotiations until the U.S. Navy lifts a blockade of the country’s ports.
Of commodities today, West Texas Intermediate closed higher Tuesday amid an uncertain outlook for peace talks between Iran and the United States.
WTI crude oil for May delivery closed up US$2.52 to settle at US$92.13 per barrel, while June Brent oil was up US$3.11 to US$98.59.
Gold prices were down a second day by midafternoon Tuesday as the dollar rose after U.S. retail sales rose above expectations last month, while talks between the United States and Iran could see an end to the Middle East war that has sent the price of oil and other commodities higher. Gold for May delivery was down US$105.50 to US$4,723.30 per ounce.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A giant exchange-traded fund tracking US stocks climbed in late hours after President Donald Trump said he’s extending the ceasefire deal with Iran until talks conclude.
The roughly $720 billion ETF tracking the S&P 500 rose after notching a second straight loss in regular trading amid news reports that Iranian officials refused to attend negotiations and Vice President JD Vance put off a planned trip to Pakistan.
Brent traded below $100 after its settlement.
Bond yields and the dollar rose.
Trump said Tuesday that while the US would hold off on fresh attacks, it would maintain its blockade on the key Strait of Hormuz, which remains at a virtual standstill.
And that’s just one of the unresolved issues, along with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities and Israel’s military operation in Lebanon.
“Waiting in cash for the all-clear sign is never a profitable strategy, but there are plenty of risks ahead,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
“So it also doesn’t make sense to move to a high risk-taking posture either.”
Meantime, Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to lead the central bank, noted the Federal Reserve needed a new framework for dealing with persistent inflation, without offering more specifics.
He also said the US president has not asked him to commit to making certain rate decisions.
“The president nominated me for the position, and I’ll be an independent actor if confirmed as chairman of the Federal Reserve,” Warsh added.
In theory, stocks and bonds should like the messages of independent thinking and inflation vigilance, noted Steve Sosnick at Interactive Brokers “From a stocks viewpoint, some of the lack of enthusiasm might stem from the seemingly lower likelihood of accommodative monetary policies,” he said.
“From a bond viewpoint, Warsh reaffirmed his long-held opinion that the Fed’s balance sheet is too large. Shrinking the balance sheet would necessitate fewer holdings of Treasuries, particularly of the longer-dated variety.”
Traders also parsed the latest economic data. US retail sales soared by the most in a year, suggesting consumers continued to spend on a wide array of merchandise despite a surge in gasoline prices sparked by the war.
Corporate Highlights:
* Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, who’s stepping down as chief executive officer later this year, told employees on Tuesday that he is “healthy” and plans to serve as executive chairman for a long time.
** Cook made the comments in an all-hands meeting with staff, following the announcement that he will pass the reins to hardware chief John Ternus on Sept. 1
* Amazon.com Inc. is investing an additional $5 billion in Anthropic PBC and may inject $20 billion more over time, a deal that strengthens ties in in an increasingly competitive artificial intelligence race.
* Adobe Inc. will buy back as much as $25 billion of its stock over the next four years following a decline in its value over AI disruption anxieties.
* Deutsche Telekom AG is considering a full combination with its American arm T-Mobile US Inc., a move that would create a multinational telecom group and rank as the largest-ever public M&A deal, people with knowledge of the matter said.
* United Airlines Holdings Inc. slashed its full-year profit forecast as higher fuel prices caused by war in the Middle East batter global carriers.
* UnitedHealth Group Inc. reported first-quarter profit that blew past Wall Street expectations and boosted its outlook for the year, a sign of the health conglomerate’s progress toward rebuilding credibility with investors after a collapse a year ago.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.1724
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3479
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 159.62 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $75,145.74
* Ether fell 1.6% to $2,301.78
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.31%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.00%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.88%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.8% to $92.13 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 3% to $4,677.24 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Feel the fear and do it anyway.-Susan Jeffers, 1938-2012.
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