Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Monday.
August 10, 1793: The Louvre opens as a public museum, turning a former royal palace and collection into a national space where ordinary people can encounter art.
August 10, 1846: Smithsonian Institution established.
August 10, 1927: Crowds fill Union Square in NYC to protest the impending execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
August 10, 1945: Japan surrenders.
August 10, 1962: Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of "Amazing Fantasy." Go to article.
Herbert Hoover, 31st president, b. 1874.
Antonio Banderas, actor, b. 1960.
Angie Harmon, actress, b. 1972.
| Where and when to see the Aug. 12 solar eclipse — exact times for North America and Europe |
🌞Here’s exactly when and where to watch the Aug. 12, 2026 solar eclipse in Europe, North America and North Africa.
| ‘These were harder than any other blades, cut sharper and cost more’ |
This excerpt from "The Age of Alchemy," reveals how ancient Sri Lankans created steel of legends by harnessing monsoons.
| Using AI has an environmental impact — here are 4 ways you can minimize it |
Escalating use of tools like Gemini and ChatGPT saps more and more power. Experts offer some tips on how to consume less.
| New recyclable yarn is as stretchy as spandex and could help tackle fashion’s plastic waste problem |
A new yarn combines the stretch of spandex with the recyclability of a single plastic, offering a potential path toward more sustainable clothing.
Brussel sprouts taste better than they did 30 years ago. Since the 1990s, breeders have reduced the bitter compounds that gave them such a bad reputation.
The tide rises, the tide falls. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Video: An ancient discovery
Italian divers have discovered a Roman-era shipwreck off the coast of Sicily.
Remembering Don Nelson
Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history who won five championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, died Sunday at age 86.
‘Absolutely terrifying’ hippo chases tour boat in Botswana
Maybe the hippo was also interested in the tour? 😳
Advancements in cancer vaccines
Testing is underway on vaccines to intercept brewing colon cancer before it takes root.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Beijing, China
People walk downstairs as they tour a newly opened bookstore at a shopping centre in Beijing
Photograph: Andy Wong/AP
Edinburgh, Scotland
Drew Lausch poses during a photocall to promote his festival fringe show, Friendliest, at Camera Obscura & World of Illusions
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Manikganj, Bangladesh
Small wooden boats are lined up for sale at the historic Ghior boat market, which dates back about 200 years and is considered the largest boat market in the country
Photograph: Syed Mahabubul Kader/Zuma Press/Shutterstock
Market Closes for August 10th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
53975.98 | -60.95 |
| -0.11% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7753.11 | -4.53 |
| -0.06% | ||
| NASDAQ | 26605.36 | -85.26 |
| -0.32% | ||
| TSX | 36458.33 | +77.10
+0.21% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 66970.22 | +1363.51 |
| +2.08% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25937.49 | +269.46 |
| +1.05% | ||
| SEN SEX | 78542.44 | +43.27 |
| +0.06% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10862.50 | -38.59 |
| -0.35% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.718 | 3.643 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
4.105 | 4.038 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.7067 | 4.6454 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
5.2510 | 5.2008 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7174 | 0.7171 |
| US $ |
1.3939 | 1.3945 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6214 | 1.6090 |
| US $ |
0.8663 | 1.1543 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4401.02 | 4341.57 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 82.13 | 78.18 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1897, looking for a remedy for his father’s rheumatism, a young German chemist named Felix Hoffmann synthesized a stable form of acetylsalicylic acid in a laboratory in Berlin. The head of Bayer’s pharmacological institute lambasted Hoffmann’s discovery as “worthless.” But Bayer soon named the product “aspirin,” and it became the bestselling drug of all time.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2%, or 77.1 to 36,458.33 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2%.
Strathcona Resources Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 8.7%.
Today, 108 of 218 shares rose, while 110 fell; 3 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 31% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 31.5% above its low on Aug. 11, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.5% in the past 5 days and rose 3.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.5 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.71% compared with 10.73% in the previous session and the average of 10.35% over the past month
Index Points
Energy | 116.7980| 2.0| 36/2
Information Technology | 49.1563| 1.7| 6/3
Materials | 0.3558| 0.0| 45/14
Health Care | -0.4444| -0.4| 3/2
Consumer Staples | -4.7216| -0.4| 3/7
Communication Services | -6.0077| -1.1| 1/4
Real Estate | -6.6741| -1.5| 0/17
Consumer Discretionary | -9.0828| -0.8| 0/8
Financials | -10.2575| -0.1| 8/15
Utilities | -19.7199| -1.6| 1/13
Industrials | -32.2743| -0.9| 5/25
Shopify | 40.4100| 2.2| 26.4| -2.2
Canadian Natural Resources | 34.7700| 3.8| -32.0| 41.6
Suncor | 30.1800| 4.4| 125.9| 43.6
Canadian National | -8.2580| -1.2| 79.4| 28.4
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -8.8910| -1.1| 7.7| 24.9
Barrick Mining | -46.1200| -6.5| 115.0| -4.6
MT Newswires:
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at a new record high on Monday, as surging oil prices boosted energy stocks amid renewed concerns over prolonged disruptions to crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The index closed up 77.10 points, or 0.2%, at 36,458.33, with energy leading the gainers, up 3.7%.
Information Technology was up 1.1% while utilities led decliners, down 1.6%.
The S&P/TSX Battery Metals Index, which tracks Canadian-listed companies engaged in the production or exploration of metals used in battery manufacturing, jumped 4%.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude surged on Monday as fading prospects for a US-Iran agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz renewed concerns over prolonged disruptions to oil supplies through the key waterway.
September WTI crude oil contract settled up $3.95, or 5.1%, at $82.13 per barrel, while October Brent oil was last seen up $4.35, or 5.2%, at $87.90 per barrel.
Meanwhile, December Comex gold futures gained 1.1%, or $47.30, to $4,447.00 per ounce.
In currencies, the US dollar was little changed against the Canadian dollar and inched up 0.02% to 1.3939.
Canadian agricultural prices rose in June, with gains across major crop and livestock products, according to a Statistics Canada report released on Monday.
Prairie canola prices rose for a fifth consecutive month, supported by Chinese demand and record-high crush volumes, while wheat prices climbed across the region amid a weaker global production outlook and lower seeded areas for the 2026/27 crop year.
Additionally, hog prices rose across all Canadian provinces, supported by strong domestic demand and higher live-hog exports to the US, said the Ottawa-based agency.
July’s stronger-than-expected Labour Force Survey (LFS) should be encouraging for the Bank of Canada, especially given recent concerns over the sustainability of Canadian growth after what was likely a robust second quarter, TD Economics said in an Aug. 7 note.
TD expects BoC policymakers to keep rates unchanged at the Sept. 2 policy meeting.
Friday’s LFS delivered a significant upside surprise, with around 75,000 jobs added versus the 20,000-consensus forecast.
At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 6.4%, its lowest level in two years, said the bank.
Meanwhile, the federal government unveiled new support for Canada’s steel industry as producers grapple with US tariff pressures.
Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon announced on Monday a C$100 million rebate program covering half the freight costs for manufacturers transporting domestic steel products across Canada by rail or sea.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in oil prices left stocks wavering while bond yields climbed, with trader anxiety building just days ahead of key inflation reports.
The lack of a deal to revive the Strait of Hormuz drove Brent crude above $87.
Higher energy costs stoked concerns the Federal Reserve will have to raise rates this year despite a labor-market slowdown.
Most shares in the S&P 500 fell.
Nvidia Corp. sank on news reports that Wall Street giants are working with the chipmaker on a $500 billion AI funding package.
President Donald Trump lashed out against Iran’s demands for war compensation as part of talks to wind down the conflict, dimming hopes of a quick agreement that would reopen the strait.
Trump had signaled on Sunday that he was prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build, rather than launch fresh strikes to force a revival of the waterway.
“The failure of the governments to hold talks is worrying Wall Street participants, who had thought last week that the path to an agreement was increasingly narrow,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
While stocks had seen a burst of enthusiasm about a possible reopening of Hormuz, markets may be less likely to respond positively to vague reports about progress in talks, said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
“The jobs report may have eased some anxieties about a Fed rate hike next month, but those concerns could hit new highs without cooler-than-expected inflation numbers this week,” he added.
The closely watched consumer price index is seen rising 0.1% in July following a 0.4% decline in the prior month, based on the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of Wednesday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics release.
Fed Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack told Yahoo Finance it’s possible that a number of rate hikes may be needed to bring inflation down to the target, but she doesn’t want to prejudge what the end point will be.
Elsewhere, the yen fell, erasing half of the gains triggered when authorities from the US and Japan intervened to support the currency.
Corporate Highlights:
* Intel Corp. plans to offer $15 billion worth of new stock in what may be its first public share sale since the chipmaker listed in 1971, a bid to extend its comeback and capitalize on the AI boom.
* Microsoft Corp. is planning to “significantly” increase production of its next-generation AI chips, the Information reported.
* Apple Inc. was downgraded to an underperform rating at Jefferies, in the latest example of growing bearishness toward the company.
* GameStop Corp., led by Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen, is considering withdrawing its $56 billion bid for eBay Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
* Boeing Co. will sell several of its units that specialize in developing technologies for flying taxis and drones to Archer Aviation Inc. as the US plane maker focuses on its core commercial and defense units.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Macro data are set to regain control of the equity narrative. That puts added weight on the inflation report, which could go a long way toward cementing expectations for the September FOMC meeting.”
—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 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%
* The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1542
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3509
* The Japanese yen fell 1% to 159.30 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.7% to $63,978.07
* Ether fell 2.3% to $1,876.15
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.70%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 3.18%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5.1% to $82.16 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,388.79 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. -David Brinkley, 1920-2003.
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