Category: Uncategorized

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.
August 15, 1947: India gains independence form Britain, with Jawaharlal Nehru becoming its first Prime Minister.  On Aug. 15, 1947, India and Pakistan became independent after some 200 years of British rule.  Go to article

Archaeology student finds rare ninth-century gold ‘within the first 90 minutes’ of her first excavation

An archaeologist in training discovered a rare medieval gold object in northwestern England during her first excavation. Read More.

DNA has an expiration date. But proteins are revealing secrets about our ancient ancestors we never thought possible.

Analysis of ancient proteins may fill in the gaps of human evolution left by the decomposition of DNA. Read More.

Spotify-like AI helps discover never-before-seen supernova as greedy star attempts to eat a black hole
​​​​​​With help from AI, astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen kind of supernova that seems to have been blowing up just as it was trying to gobble down a black hole.

‘Frankenstein bunnies’ spotted in Colorado
A group of rabbits has contracted a virus that makes grotesque, hornlike growths protrude from their faces.

Useful Apple Watch feature returns
The tech giant was forced to remove a tool after a patent dispute.

YouTube will start using AI to guess your age
If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it.

Jerry Jones goes public about decade-long fight with cancer
The Dallas Cowboys owner credits an experimental trial drug for successfully treating his advanced melanoma.

‘And Just Like That’ comes to an end
Here are some of the show’s most orgasmic highs — and dismal lows.

Napoleaon Bonaparte, French Emperor, b. 1769.
Sir Walter Scott, poet, b.1771.
Julia Child, chef, b. 1912.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Shincliffe, UK
People enjoy the sunflower trail at East Grange farm in County Durham
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Sydney, Australia
A Boeing 737 flies past storm clouds as it prepares to land at an airport
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Egrets fly among the blooming lotus flowers in Hongze Lake wetland in Sihong county, China
Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Market Closes for Aug 15^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44946.12	+34.86
		+0.08%
S&P 500	6449.80	-18.74
		-0.29%
NASDAQ	21622.98	-87.69
		-0.40%
TSX	27905.49	-10.50
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	43378.31	+729.05
		+1.71%
HANG SENG	25270.07	-249.25
		-0.98%
SENSEX	80597.66	+57.75
		+0.07%
FTSE 100*	9138.90	-38.34
		-0.42%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.454	3.411
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.851	3.802
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3160	4.2849
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.9183	4.8726

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7239	0.7238
US $	1.3814	1.3815

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6168	0.6185
US $	1.1704	0.8544

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3343.85	3364.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	62.80	62.65

Market Commentary:
All wars are the results of undefended wealth. -Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 27,905.49 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.9%.
Bird Construction Inc. had the largest drop, falling 3.7%.
Today, 86 of 211 shares fell, while 121 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5%
* The index advanced 21% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.6% below its 52-week high on Aug. 13, 2025 and 25.5% above its low on April 7, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 on a trailing basis and 17.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.49t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.70% compared with 9.69% in the previous session and the average of 7.68% over the past month
Index Points
Energy | -28.5531| -0.6| 12/26
Information Technology | -18.1374| -0.6| 7/3
Financials | -11.2030| -0.1| 12/12
Consumer Discretionary | -2.6743| -0.3| 6/3
Real Estate | -0.1180| 0.0| 11/7
Utilities | 2.0536| 0.2| 9/5
Health Care | 2.6448| 3.8| 2/1
Industrials | 3.6075| 0.1| 12/16
Consumer Staples | 5.7614| 0.6| 7/3
Communication Services | 6.0182| 0.9| 5/0
Materials | 30.0966| 0.8| 38/10
(MT Newswires)
The Toronto Stock Exchange fell for a second-straight day Friday on weaker commodity prices and as Rosenberg Research sees signs of a “likely move into a confirmed downtrend next week.”
Not helped by lower commodity prices, the resources heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index was down a modest 10.5 points to 27,905,49.
This comes after the TSX on Thursday fell for the first time in four sessions, including two record closes.
Among sectors, most were higher, led by Health Care, up 4%.
None were down by more than 1%.
In terms of the outlook for equities, including those on the TSX, this week’s issue of ‘Technicals with Dave’ from Rosenberg Research focuses on global markets.
In July’s comment, Rosenberg noted that since April’s low, the TSX index recorded 12-straight weeks with both a higher high and higher low than the preceding week.
“Not surprisingly, that pace has moderated a bit, but only slightly,” the research said.
“Through the end of last week, 16 of the last 17 weeks met that standard, and the exception did post a higher high (but also a lower low). How good is that? As this is written (August 13th), this week is on pace for another higher high and higher low.”
However, Rosenberg Research noted, the weekly Coppock Curve, a momentum indicator for identifying long-term buying opportunities in stocks or indices, has peaked and will likely move into a confirmed downtrend next week. It said:
“Those pressures are currently expected to persist well into November, but the indicator is not anticipated to fall below its neutral zero line. Similarly, the weekly Coppock already has a bearish bias for most of the index’s 11 sectors; these majority pressures will likely continue into October.”
According to Rosenberg Research, with those pending momentum pressures in mind, a Fibonacci 38.2%-61.8% retracement of the post-April uptrend would not be a surprise. Based on the gains to date, it said, such a retracement allows for a challenge of 25,781-24,424.
“The probable strength of that range, together with the Coppock Curve’s ability to hold its zero line anytime, would be the setup for a well-contained correction within an uptrend,” it added.
Rosenberg Research suggested last month a rally through 27,800 would be the trigger for a decisive breakout.
“That has occurred, so we need to keep the next Fibonacci objective of 28,915 in mind,” it said.
The research added: “Although the downtrend line displayed on the nearby TSX/S&P 500 relative strength index is drawn from 2023 to present, it has its origins in 2016. The relative index itself has been in a downtrend since 2009. So, we want to keep an eye on both the trendline (currently at 4.47) and the year-to-date high at 4.66 as important resistance areas. A breakout would be a potentially significant bullish relative strength development.”
Of commodities, gold was steady late afternoon on Friday as the dollar weakened after a day-prior report showed U.S. wholesale inflation surged last month, failing to dent expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down $0.30 to US$3,383.50 per ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to a 10-week low ahead of a summit meeting between the U.S. and Russia, while China released weak economic data.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed down $1.16 to US$62.80 per barrel, the lowest since June 2, while October Brent oil was last seen down $0.88 to US$65.96.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders sent stocks down from all-time highs as data showed mixed indications on how American consumers are feeling about the economy.
Investors also kept a close eye on a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Following a surge from its April lows, the S&P 500 fell.
Applied Materials Inc. led losses in chipmakers on a disappointing outlook.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. soared as prominent funds piled into the insurer.
Solar shares rallied.
Longer-dated Treasuries underperformed.
The dollar and oil retreated.
Trump greeted his Russian counterpart with a handshake in Alaska as they kicked off a highly anticipated summit, with the US leader looking to secure an end to the war in Ukraine.
A joint press conference was planned for after their meeting.
“While we cannot predict the outcome of the Alaska summit, we are on watch for potential disruptors as the trading environment, in our opinion, remains very sensitive to headline risk,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Before that, economic data showed a broad-based advance in US retail sales, boosted by car sales and major online promotions.
Later, a separate report showed consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell for the first time since April and inflation expectations rose.
“Consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April,” said Peter Boockvar, author of The Boock Report.
“However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future.”
To Bill Adams at Comerica Bank, while the data don’t all point in the same direction, the US economy looks to be in OK shape.
“What consumers do is more important to the economy than what they say,” he said.
At eToro, Bret Kenwell says July’s retail sales figures weren’t necessarily a blowout.
However, control group sales — which are used in the gross domestic product calculation — topped economists’ expectations, while June’s already strong report was revised even higher.
Retailers will start reporting earnings next week, which should provide more insights into consumer behavior, he noted.
As long as consumer spending holds up and companies are able to retain workers because of that robust spending, the flywheel can continue to spin, according to Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
And that would push both corporate profits and stocks higher, he said.
“While the consumer appears relatively healthy, the Fed is in a tough spot with its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices,” said Kenwell at eToro.
“If they opt to cut rates as the market currently expects, that could be another benefit for consumers.”
Attention will soon turn to next week’s central bank gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with traders getting ready for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech.
Markets are still wholly convinced that officials will cut rates by 25 basis points in September — and follow that up with at least one other cut in October or December, noted Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics.
He says Powell will possibly caution that a modestly restrictive policy stance remains appropriate.
At Bank of America Corp., strategists led by Michael Hartnett say US stocks are set to decline in the event of dovish signals from the Fed in Jackson Hole as investors “buy rumor, sell fact.”
Investors poured about $21 billion into US equity funds in the week through Aug. 13, after redeeming nearly $28 billion in the week prior, according to a BofA note citing EPFR Global data.
Retail investors are increasingly validated in the buy-the- dip approach, given the speed of the recovery from the recent selloff, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy the next time the market experiences a minor selloff, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“Despite this well-established trend, there are few signs of excess or complacency, as many investors remain skeptical of the rally despite the market returning double-digits to date this year,” he said.

Corporate Highlights:
* The Trump administration is considering using funds from the US Chips Act to take a stake in Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the discussions, part of efforts to rescue the embattled chipmaker and shore up domestic semiconductor manufacturing
* Clean energy stocks soared after the Trump administration released new guidance on eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren’t as punitive as the industry had feared.
* Opendoor Technologies Inc., a real estate company that became a meme stock in recent months, said Chief Executive Officer Carrie Wheeler is stepping down immediately, an announcement that sent the stock surging.
* UnitedHealth Group Inc. jumped after funds piled into the company, which has been hampered by a federal probe into its business practices and weakening results.
** Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was among the investors, buying 5 million shares in the second quarter, according to a filing. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP also invested, boosting its holdings of the health insurance giant by 2.3 million shares.
* Gilead Sciences Inc. Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day said the company’s new HIV prevention drug Yeztugo should be able to gain favorable insurance coverage despite questions about how the Trump administration will handle recommendations for treatments like this.
* Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli AG may shift production of its world-famous, gold-wrapped Easter bunnies to the US to sidestep import tariffs.
* Danish jewelry company Pandora A/S is weighing potential price increases in the US and elsewhere due to higher tariffs, according to its chief executive officer.

Some of the moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index was little changed
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.3%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 2.3%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1701
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3555
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 147.23 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $116,986.8
* Ether fell 3.4% to $4,384.76
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.32%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 2.79%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.70%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.75%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.92%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $63.12 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,339.15 an ounce

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. –Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.  La Torta dei Fieschi, Italy.

August 14, 1935: The Social Security Act is signed into law in the United States, creating the modern welfare system.
On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II. Go to article.
August 14^th, 1993: The Yankees retire Reggie Jackson’s number 44.

Steve Martin, comedian, b. 1945.
Magic Johnson, basketball player, b. 1949.
Halle Berry, actress, b. 1968

Diabetic man produces his own insulin after gene-edited cell transplant

The new proof-of-concept study points a way to curing diabetes without the need for immune-suppressing drugs. Read More.

No, blue whales aren’t going silent off California. Here’s why.

Reports of blue whales going silent off California don’t reflect the findings of a recent study. Read More.

Scientists use Stephen Hawking theory to propose ‘black hole morsels’ — strange, compact objects that could reveal new physics

Violent black hole collisions may create black hole ‘morsels’ no larger than an asteroid — and these bizarre objects could pave the way to unlocking new physics, a study claims. Read More

Prominent medical journal refuses RFK’s call to retract a vaccine study

A recent study that confirmed that aluminium in vaccines doesn’t pose a risk to children has sparked a war of words between the RFK, Jr. and a U.S. medical journal. Read More.

Trump predicts Jimmy Kimmel’s cancellation
If that does happen, the late-night host has a backup plan.

Yes, the ‘Alien’ timeline is confusing
Before you dig into the franchise’s first TV series, here’s some clarity.

Taco Bell expands cult-favorite drinks menu
The fast-food chain’s Mountain Dew Baja Blast is getting its first permanent new flavor in two decades. Will you try it?

Did you catch Taylor Swift on the ‘New Heights’ podcast?
The Grammy-winning singer announced the release date for her 12th album. Then, she got candid about the battle for her early master recordings, her favorite hobbies and her relationship with NFL superstar Travis Kelce. Get all the details here.

“The election of 2026 is going to be decided in the summer of 2025.” — Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, on why he is raising funds for Democratic members of the state legislature who left Texas to prevent Republicans from passing a new US House map that could help the GOP flip as many as five seats next year.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Surf’s up at the 2025 Tahiti Pro
Kauli Vaast of France surfs in heat one of round 16.
Photograph: Brent Bielmann/World Surf League

Bangkok, Thailand
People interact with an animatronic brachiosaurus at an immersive experience inspired by the film Jurassic World
Photograph: Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters

​​​​​​​Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A visitor tries on a virtual-reality headset during Rio Innovation Week
Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Market Closes for Aug 14^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44911.26	-11.01
		-0.02%
S&P 500	6468.54	+1.96
		+0.3%
NASDAQ	21710.67	-2.47
		-0.01%
TSX	27915.99	-77.44
		-0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	42649.26	-625.41
		-1.45%
HANG SENG	25519.32	-94.35
		-0.37%
SENSEX	80597.66	+57.75
		+0.07%
FTSE 100*	9177.24	+12.01
		+0.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.411	3.397
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.802	3.782
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2849	4.2326
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8726	4.8253

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7238	0.7270
US $	1.3815	1.3755

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6094	0.6213
US $	1.1650	0.8583

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3364.40	3343.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	62.65	62.65

Market Commentary:
A strategy is something you can touch; you can motivate people with; be number one and number two in every business. – John Francis Welch Jr. “Jack”, 1935-2020.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3% at 27,915.99 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5%.
Bird Construction Inc. had the largest drop, falling 15.4%.
Today, 104 of 211 shares fell, while 104 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.

Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6%
* 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 0.5% below its 52-week high on Aug. 13, 2025 and 25.6% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6% in the past 5 days and rose 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 on a trailing basis and 17.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.5t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.69% compared with 9.73% in the previous session and the average of 7.50% over the past month

Index Points
Information Technology| -109.1395| -3.6| 1/9
Industrials | -38.8551| -1.1| 4/24
Materials | -8.2132| -0.2| 15/33
Consumer Staples | -3.2263| -0.3| 4/6
Health Care | 1.2947| 1.9| 3/0
Real Estate | 1.3485| 0.3| 14/5
Utilities | 2.2217| 0.2| 10/4
Consumer Discretionary| 4.1344| 0.4| 5/4
Communication Services| 5.7031| 0.9| 5/0
Energy | 29.8176| 0.7| 28/11
Financials | 37.4660| 0.4| 15/8
Shopify | -62.4100| -3.5| 6.4| 30.4
Constellation | Software | -34.6100| -5.6| 168.6| -4.2
Canadian Pacific | Kansas | -13.9300| -2.1| 8.9| -2.0
Equinox Gold | 7.1990| 15.1| 311.6| 49.2
Enbridge | 13.8900| 1.4| -42.0| 9.1
RBC | 15.6400| 0.8| -28.4| 8.8
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange paused its record run on Thursday, falling for the first time in four sessions, including two record highs, on some profit taking and ahead of tomorrow’s release of market-sensitive economic numbers, including factory data, elements of which were inadvertently published today.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 77.44 points to 27,915.99, even with most sectors up.
Healthcare was up near 2.2%.
The biggest decliners were Info Tech, down 3.1%, and Industrials, down 1.1%.
Among individual stocks, Air Canada (AC.TO) closed unchanged even as Canada’s CTV News reported airline management abruptly ended a press conference Thursday after a lineup of members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the airlines flight attendants, entered the room and held signs reading “unpaid work won’t fly” and “UnfAir Canada,” among other statements.
The flight attendants are pressing for an end to unpaid work demanded by the airline and raises to their pay.
Before the news conference ended, CTV News said, Air Canada revealed details on its plans to ground all flights by Saturday if a deal with the union cannot be reached.
Some long-haul flights due to depart tonight have already been cancelled.
Air Canada plans to cancel 500 trips Friday in a step towards a total stoppage Saturday morning.
The disruption would impact about 130,000 customers per day, including several thousand Canadian travelers who are at risk of being stranded abroad, Air Canada executives said.
On the economics front, at a time when economic data is eagerly awaited ahead of its release, and then dissected afterwards, the lead up to Friday’s release of manufacturing and wholesale figures for June, and also existing home sales for July, took an interesting turn today.
Reuters is reported Statistics Canada posted market-sensitive information about June manufacturing data on its website, a day ahead of the scheduled release date.
When Reuters asked why the data was visible, the agency took down the page immediately, indicating an error had occurred.
“Statistics Canada takes this incident very seriously. We are conducting a thorough review and will determine whether additional safeguards are required to prevent a recurrence,” said agency spokeswoman Maryse Carriere.
Carriere said the agency is proceeding with plans to release the data on August 15 at 8:30 a.m.
The manufacturing data, in particular, is likely to be closely watched Friday for clues on what impact the brewing trade war between Canada and the United States is having on that sector of the economy.
Of commodities, gold traded lower midafternoon on Thursday as the dollar and yields rose following a report that showed U.S. wholesale prices unexpectedly surged in July.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down $23.70 to US$3,384.60 per ounce.
But West Texas Intermediate closed higher, rising up from a 10-week low, a day ahead of a summit between the U.S. and Russia and a day after the latest warning the market is becoming over supplied.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed up $1.31 to settle at US$63.96 per barrel, rising off the lowest since June 2.
October Brent oil was last seen up $1.08 to US$66.71.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The blistering run in stocks hit a wall as a pick-up in inflation lifted bond yields alongside the dollar, with traders paring bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
Following a roughly 30% surge from its April lows, the S&P 500 barely budged.
While the index’s move was mild due to gains in most big techs, over 350 of its shares fell.
Intel Corp. jumped as the Trump Administration was said to discuss the US taking a stake in the chipmaker.
Two-year yields climbed six basis points to 3.73%.
While money markets still see at least a half point of Fed easing in 2025, swaps no longer fully price in a quarter-point cut in September.
The dollar rose against all developed-world peers.
US wholesale inflation accelerated in July by the most in three years, suggesting companies are passing along higher import costs related to tariffs.
The producer price index increased 0.9% from a month earlier and 3.3% from a year ago.
Services costs jumped 1.1% last month.
With consumer price data earlier this week pointing to a milder pass-through in July, and the labor market now shifting to a lower gear, the Fed is widely expected to cut rates next month.
However, firm wholesale inflation data may give some officials pause that prices are rearing back up.
To Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management, the spike in PPI shows inflation is coursing through the economy, even if it hasn’t been felt by consumers yet.
“Given how benign the CPI numbers were on Tuesday, this is a most unwelcome surprise to the upside,” he said.
“The fact that PPI was stronger-than-expected and CPI has been relatively soft suggests that businesses are eating much of the tariff costs instead of passing them onto the consumer,” said Clark Geranen at CalBay Investments.
With input costs rising, this could impact earnings for companies in the third and fourth quarters, according to Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
Yet, the downside was limited, suggesting that investors are not too concerned just yet.
“It is likely that the Fed will see through the rise as the one-time increase and their concerns about the jobs market may make them more open to the idea of resuming rate cuts from September,” he said.
The jump in PPI reflects lingering cost pressures — some driven by tariffs — but core inflation trends remain contained, according to Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.
“It’s a reminder that the path to lower rates may not be linear, but the broader disinflationary trend is still intact,” she said.
“This is not a signal to panic. It’s a time to focus on fundamentals, maintain diversification, and look for companies with strong pricing power and healthy margins.”
“This doesn’t slam the door on a September rate cut, but based on the market’s initial reaction, the opening may be a little smaller than it was a couple of days ago,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
If anything, the data poured cold water on 50 basis-point rate cut expectations and offered fodder to the hawks who are skeptical of the prudence of a 25 basis-point rate cut at next month’s Fed meeting, according to Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets.
Thierry Wizman at Macquarie Group says the Fed is more likely to give us a “hawkish” cut than a “dovish” cut in September, assuming no radical changes in the direction of data or markets until then.
The more concerning aspect is that the full impact of tariffs is expected to materialize in next month’s data, according to Eugenio Aleman at Raymond James.
“This complicates the Fed’s September decision, where a 25bps cut remains likely, but a 50bps move is most likely off the table,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he isn’t calling for a series of rate cuts from the Fed, just pointing out that models suggest a “neutral” rate would be about 1.5 percentage points lower.
“I didn’t tell the Fed what to do,” Bessent told Fox Business, referring to his comments a day before about how the central bank “could go into a series of rate cuts here.”
Meantime, Fed Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem told CNBC said it’s too early for him to decide on whether to lower interest rates at next month’s meeting.
And His Richmond counterpart Tom Barkin said he sees signs that the environment for US consumers improved in July after weakness earlier in the year.
From here, analysts and investors are getting ready to scour Friday’s retail sales report and a key gauge of consumer sentiment for clues on how US households are feeling about the economy.

Corporate Highlights:
* Cisco Systems Inc. gave a cautious forecast for the current fiscal year, even as sales from artificial intelligence projects begin to pick up.
* Apple Inc. is restoring the blood oxygen tracking feature on its smartwatch in the US following a years-long legal fight.
* Deere & Co., the world’s biggest farm machinery maker, pared its annual earnings outlook with lower grain prices curbing growers’ spending.
* Peloton Interactive Inc. is planning its biggest product upgrades in years, a bid to rejuvenate sales with refreshed hardware, new accessories and artificial intelligence.
* Eli Lilly & Co. is raising the list price for its obesity shot in the UK by as much as 170%, as the pharma industry comes under pressure from US President Donald Trump to increase medicine prices in Europe and lower them for Americans.
* JD.com Inc.’s revenue grew a faster-than-anticipated 22%, benefiting from government-directed consumer subsidies as well as an aggressive but costly drive into new arenas such as meal delivery.
* Costco Wholesale Corp. has decided not to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone at its more than 500 pharmacy locations, a decision hailed by a group of faith-based activists who urged the retailer to avoid selling the drug.
* Southwest Airlines Co. sold a renewable fuels unit to Conestoga Energy as the carrier scales back its climate-focused initiatives following years of little progress by the industry.
* Rogers Communications Inc. will sell a portfolio of nine data centers to infrastructure asset manager InfraRed Capital Partners to help pay down debt.
* Tapestry Inc. has been one of the stars of the retail world, but a mix of tariff costs and weakness at its Kate Spade brand sent investors fleeing on Thursday.
* Carlsberg A/S reported a drop in volumes and warned consumers were continuing to pull back on spending.
* Klarna Group Plc had to set aside more money for potentially souring loans in the second quarter, a move that put pressure on results ahead of its expected public debut.
* Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. expects sales of servers to more than double this quarter while its consumer electronics business dwindles, underscoring how it’s relying on the AI boom to offset volatile iPhone sales.

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 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.1%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.4%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 1.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.1649
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3537
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 147.76 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.1% to $117,951.03
* Ether fell 3.9% to $4,535.24
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.71%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.64%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 3.73%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.87%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.2% to $64.04 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,338.48 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
The one law that does not change is that everything changes, and the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring. –Louis L’Amour, 1908-1988.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Go to article.
August 13, 1965: Teens, mostly girls, attempt to crash the Warwick Hoel, where the Beatles are staying ahead of their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Alfred Hitchcock, director, b. 1899.
Fidel Castro, Cuban President, b. 1926.

A plague mysteriously spread from Europe into Asia 4,000 years ago
Scientists now think they may know how.

Many of Hollywood’s summer hits share a common formula
They say familiarity breeds contempt, but that doesn’t appear to be the case at the box office this summer.

Ronaldo puts a ring on it!
The soccer great and his long-term partner announced their engagement on Instagram this week — and you gotta see the ring!

“I think it’s very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime. In my city, in Baltimore, we have the fewest amount of homicides through this date, on record. That’s 50 years. A 50-year low.” — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on President Trump’s criticism about violence in his city.

Meta AI takes first step to superintelligence — and Zuckerberg will no longer release the most powerful systems to the public
The Meta CEO believes that AI with the capacity to improve itself is the first step towards a technology that will transform humanity. Read More.

1,300-year-old skeletons found in England had grandparents from sub-Saharan Africa, DNA studies reveal
A DNA analysis of two people who lived in Britain in the seventh century reveals they had recent African ancestry. Read More.

Amazon rainforest is approaching ‘tipping points’ that could transform it into a drier savanna
Researchers caution that the Amazon rainforest could disappear in the next hundred years, due to the combined effects of climate change and deforestation, and a new model predicts how that could transpire. Read More.

‘Rogue waves’ can be 65 feet tall, but they aren’t ‘freak occurrences,’ data from North Sea reveals
Researchers have used lab models to study how rogue waves form, but these don’t always transfer over to the natural world.

James Webb telescope spots earliest black hole in the known universe, looking ‘as far back as you can practically go’
Astronomers using the James Webb telescope have zoomed in on a ‘Little Red Dot’ that existed just 500 million years after the Big Bang and found that it may contain the earliest known black hole in the universe.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Scharbeutz, Germany
Beachgoers sunbathe and cool off in the Baltic Sea during a heatwave
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Málaga, Spain
Volunteers at the Fuente de Piedra natural reserve walk across the lagoon at dawn to gather flamingo chicks before tagging them with identity rings
Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

A tour de force!’: LensCulture Critics’ Choice awards – in pictures
Carlos Folgoso Sueiro (Spain): Beyond the Lake
Jim Casper, editor-in-chief of LensCulture says: ‘Carlos Folgoso Sueiro has created an immersive, cinematic, semi-mythical story about the place where he grew up, Galicia, and the people who inhabit it still, against all odds of survival. It’s a sad and romantic tale that touches on rural depopulation, droughts, neglect and resilience. All of the stunning photos are accompanied by compelling texts that explore many facets of life and struggles in Galicia. It’s a tour de force’
Market Closes for Aug 13^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44922.27	+463.66
		+1.04%
S&P 500	6466.58	+20.82
		+0.32%
NASDAQ	21713.14	+31.24
		+0.14%
TSX	27993.43	+27.16
		+0.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	43274.67	+556.50
		+1.30%
HANG SENG	25613.67	+643.99
		+2.58%
SENSEX	80539.91	+304.32
		+0.38%
FTSE 100*	9165.23	+17.42
		+0.19%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.397	3.434
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.782	3.812
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2326	4.2888
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8253	4.8786

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7270	0.7260
US $	1.3755	1.3774

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6105	0.6209
US $	1.1709	0.8540

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3343.30	3356.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	62.65	63.17

Market Commentary:
No man was ever wise by chance. -Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c. 4BCE-65 CE.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.3%, or 72.16 to 27,993.43 in Toronto.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 125 of 211 shares rose, while 84 fell.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.6%.
Hudbay Minerals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 14.8%.

Insights
* The index advanced 24% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 25.9% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and rose 3.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.49t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.73% compared with 9.73% in the previous session and the average of 7.41% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | 61.7650| 0.7| 13/11
Consumer Discretionary | 16.9592| 1.9| 9/0
Communication Services | 10.4884| 1.6| 5/0
Real Estate | 6.7224| 1.3| 18/1
Industrials | 5.4971| 0.2| 17/11
Materials | 1.7581| 0.0| 29/19
Energy | 0.9852| 0.0| 16/24
Health Care | -0.3784| -0.5| 1/2
Utilities | -0.8025| -0.1| 5/8
Consumer Staples | -12.2627| -1.2| 5/5
Information Technology | -18.5497| -0.6| 7/3
TD Bank | 19.6500| 1.6| -36.4| 34.0
RBC | 12.8700| 0.7| -47.1| 7.9
TC Energy | 8.6590| 1.7| -33.4| 4.9
Celestica | -10.5500| -4.4| 24.3| 112.0
Cameco | -12.0700| -3.7| 28.3| 40.8
Constellation | Software | -23.9500| -3.7| 102.4| 1.4
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange made rose to a second-straight record close Wednesday as BMO said Canadian equities “remain well positioned to keep pace with the U.S.” and Desjardins noted the Bank of Canada left the door open for a rate cut next month to stimulate the economy.
Despite mixed commodity prices, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 72.17 points to 27,993.43, beating Tuesday’s previous record finish by 70 points.
Most sectors were higher, with Telecoms up 1.65% and Base Metals up near 1.3%.
Health Care was down 0.8%, after strong gains in recent days, while Information Technology was down 1%.
Among individual stocks, Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) closed up $7.97, or 12%, to $75.62, after sealing a deal to acquire rival HanesBrands in a US$2.2 billion transaction.
Big picture, Brian Belski, Chief Investment Strategist at BMO Capital Markets, published his latest Canadian Strategy Snapshot entitled ‘Earnings Normalization Remains on Track’.
Bottom line for Belski, despite persistent trade rhetoric, BMO “remains steadfast” that Canada is “well positioned fundamentally”.
He said investors should remain focused on the broader fundamental normalization process that is well under way in BMO’s view.
In fact, Belski added, the Canadian earnings recovery that BMO has been highlighting since the middle of 2024 continues to trend toward a more normalized growth profile.
“Furthermore,” Belski said, “after a very short-lived trade induced negative revision cycle at the beginning of the year, revisions have now clearly shifted positive with S&P/TSX FY1 and FY2 bottom-up EPS estimates up almost 2% since bottoming at the end of June.
More importantly, profitability metrics have stabilized over the last few quarters and growth expectations have now accelerated back toward more normalized high single digits and is likely to reach the double-digit range by the end of the year.
Yes, from our perspective the normalization process remains firmly on track and Canadian equities remain well positioned to keep pace with the U.S.”
In economics, Desjardins noted the Bank of Canada published its ‘Summary of Deliberations’, an account on the deliberations of the BoC’s Governing Council leading to the monetary policy decision on July 30, 2025, when it left rates unchanged.
Desjardins Macro Strategist Tiago Figueiredo noted central bankers were dissuaded from delivering a 25-basis point cut in July, but he said the door “remains open” to resume easing later this year.
He added: “The resilience in economic activity and firmness in inflation both kept policymakers sidelined last month.
While economic activity slowed in Q2, at least part of that slump was tied to a pull-forward in activity earlier this year.
Consumption appeared to have increased in Q2, and most of the weakness in the labor market was concentrated in the sectors most reliant on trade.
On inflation, policymakers remained concerned that underlying inflation had risen, and risks were still skewed higher thanks to potential trade disruptions and tariffs.”
But, Figueiredo also noted, policymakers took some comfort in the fact that all three of their tariff scenarios kept headline inflation below 2.5%.
“Furthermore,” he said, “central bankers noted that there were no signs that inflation expectations had become de-anchored.”
Figueiredo noted there remained a diversity of views among Governing Council members.
Some policymakers believed that the “bank may have already provided sufficient support to aid in this transition.”
These members cited “lagged effects of monetary policy”, emphasizing the “risk that further easing might take effect only as demand was recovering, which could add to price pressures”.
Conversely, others noted that “further monetary policy support would likely be needed given the estimated amount and persistence of slack in the economy”.
Despite the diverging views, policymakers were aligned in reiterating that there may be a need for further easing “if a weakening economy put further downward pressure on inflation and the upward price pressures from the trade disruptions were contained”.
As a result, Figueiredo said, the latest iteration of the ‘Summary of Deliberations’ suggests we could see the BoC resume its easing cycle next month.
Desjardins continues to expect the BoC will cut its policy rate by 25 basis points in September.
Of commodities, gold futures edged higher late afternoon on Wednesday as the dollar and yields fell, but the metal remains rangebound since touching a record high last month.
Gold for December delivery was last seen up $8.40 to US$3,407.40 per ounce, sticking under the July 22 record high of US$3,501.80.
But West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at a 10-week low as another major forecasting agency warned global inventories are on the rise amid higher supply while a report showed an unexpected hike in U.S. inventories last week.
WTI crude closed down $0.52 to US$62.55 per barrel, the lowest since June 2, while October Brent oil was last seen down $0.49 to US$65.63.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders kept piling into bets that the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut interest rates, with stocks hitting all-time highs and Treasury yields falling alongside the dollar.
Just a day after a report showed benign inflation data, traders fully priced in a quarter-point Fed reduction in September, with some wagers pointing to a jumbo-sized move.
Market expectations for policy easing also gained fuel after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks that “we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis-point rate cut in September.”
About 420 shares in the S&P 500 rose.
While the index only eked out a gain amid weakness in most mega caps, Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. rallied.
The Russell 2000 of small firms jumped 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%.
In late hours, Cisco Systems Inc. gave a lukewarm outlook.
Two-year yields dropped five basis points to 3.68%.
Fed policymakers last month kept their benchmark at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
Bessent said officials might have cut rates if they’d been aware of the revised data on the labor market that came out a couple of days after the latest meeting.
“As the labor market continues to weaken, we think the US central bank will resume interest rate cuts next month, with 25- basis-point cuts at each meeting through January 2026 for a total of 100 basis points,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
President Donald Trump said he may name the next Fed chair “a little bit early” and added that he was down to three or four potential candidates as he looks for a successor to Jerome Powell.
“As the market continues to digest the shift in the trajectory of the real economy following the combination of July’s inflation and employment data, it follows intuitively that the question has become: how large of a cut should Powell deliver?” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets.
“We don’t expect a 50 basis-point move, although we certainly see scope for a meaningful probability of one to be priced in during the coming weeks,” he added.
After a “not as bad as it could have been” consumer price index, the equity market is now in full “easing expectation” mode, noted Sam Stovall at CFRA.
“We still project 25 basis-point cuts to the Fed funds target range at the September and December Federal Open Market Committee meetings, with a pause in October,” he said.
To Rick Rieder at BlackRock, while the latest inflation report was a bit stronger than we have seen over the prior few months, it was lower than many have feared.
Rieder also noted he’s still heartened by the trajectory of some core areas of inflation that are running at lower levels than in the prior few years.
“As a result, we expect the Fed to begin cutting rates in September, and it could be justified cutting the Funds rate by 50 basis points, to get it more aligned with longer-term inflationary expectations and some of the productivity enhancement we are seeing across multiple industries,” he said.
“Stocks are seeing another boost higher as tariff fears are less than expected, earnings are strong, and prospects for a fall Federal Reserve rate cut are rising,” said Rich Mullen at Pallas Capital Advisors.
“While we believe it still makes sense to stay invested, much of this year’s stock gains are likely already in.”
Mullen noted that inflation has been tame, and while many businesses have been able to avoid passing on higher costs to consumers, there are still questions on how much longer this trend can last.
The big risk for the Fed is the possibility that inflation spikes suddenly from tariffs, he said.
“Just because the inflation data has remained calm, doesn’t mean it can’t spike in the future,” Mullen said.
To Mark Hackett at Nationwide, the path of least resistance for the market is higher as the S&P 500 broke out of the recent trading range.
“Retail investors are increasingly validated in the buy- the-dip approach, given the speed of the recovery from the recent selloff, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy the next time the market experiences a minor selloff,” he said.
The latest reading on consumer prices showed underlying US inflation accelerated in July — but the cost of tariff-exposed goods didn’t rise as much as feared.
A report on producer prices due Thursday will offer insights on additional categories that feed directly into the Fed’s preferred price gauge — which is scheduled for later this month.
“Tariff-related costs are still being absorbed by corporate profit margins rather than passed on to consumers, giving the Fed room to pivot without sparking inflationary risk,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index.
Some companies have been holding off on price increases for fear that consumers will pull back on spending, which will heighten interest for Friday reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment.

Corporate Highlights:
* Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the recent deal to allow Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to resume lower-end AI chip sales to China, on the condition they give the US government a 15% cut of the related revenue, could serve as a model for others.
* Apple Inc. is plotting its artificial intelligence comeback with an ambitious slate of new devices, including robots, a lifelike version of Siri, a smart speaker with a display and home-security cameras.
* Top US chip-equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. was sued by a rival in China over what that company characterized as trade secret theft, a further escalation in the technology war between the world’s two largest economies.
* Amazon.com Inc. plans to offer same-day grocery delivery in 2,300 cities by the end of the year, more than doubling the current number and marking its latest attempt to muscle into the $1 trillion grocery industry led by its top retail competitor Walmart Inc.
* Tesla Inc. is looking to hire someone to test its driver- assistance technology on the streets of New York City, suggesting the carmaker could be looking to expand its ride- hailing services to the largest US metropolis.
* Oracle Corp. is cutting jobs in its closely watched cloud unit, the latest company taking steps to control costs amid heavy spending on AI infrastructure.
* Tencent Holdings Ltd. promised prudence in AI spending despite faster-than-anticipated growth across its gaming and advertising businesses, suggesting the company intends to adopt a more measured approach to artificial intelligence development than many of its global rivals.
* A union representing workers at Boeing Co.’s St. Louis-area defense factories urged US lawmakers from Missouri to intervene and nudge the plane maker to reach a deal.
* Bullish jumped 84% from the IPO price after the digital-asset exchange operator and owner of media outlet CoinDesk raised $1.1 billion in an initial public offering.
* Gildan Activewear Inc. agreed to buy US underwear maker Hanesbrands Inc. — aiming to double its annual sales — for about $2.2 billion in cash and stock.
* Webtoon Entertainment Inc. announced a partnership with Walt Disney Co. that will bring iconic characters such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars to its platform.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Increased talk of a potential half-point Fed cut in September is turning into a double shot for risk assets — boosting risk appetite while promising easier financial conditions ahead. Layered on top of a post-CPI volatility crush, that’s helping drive the SPX towards 6,500 into Friday’s August options expiration.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.3%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1700
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3574
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 147.46 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.2% to $122,794.7
* Ether rose 2.6% to $4,742.67
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 4.23%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.68%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.59%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 3.68%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 4.83%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $62.76 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,358.02 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by children. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809-1894.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Tuesday!

August 12, 1676: Jing Philip assassinated.
August 12, 1851: Sewing machine invented.
August 12, 1908: The first Ford Model T is sold, soon becoming the first car mass produced via moving assembly line – transforming transport and manufacturing.
August 12. 1920: Fans bid farewell to Happy & Fairfax, toe horses being replaced by a motorized fire truck at Engine company No. 46, New York, New York.
August 12, 1981: IBM introduced its first personal computer, the model 5150. Go to article.

Cecil B. DeMille, director, b. 1881.
William Goldman, author, b. 1931.
George Soros, financier, b. 1930.

Meteorite that crash landed through Georgia man’s roof is 20 million years older than Earth, scientists say
Researchers have analyzed the McDonough meteorite, which crashed through a man’s home in June, and determined that it is older than our planet. Read More.

‘Space hurricane’ caught raging over North Pole during one of the sun’s quietest days
A rare “space hurricane” that swirled over Earth’s North Pole in 2014 caused intense space weather effects despite unusually quiet solar conditions, a new study reports. Read More.

World’s first artificial tongue ‘tastes and learns’ like a real human organ
Scientists have created the first artificial tongue that can taste, and process flavors entirely in a liquid environment.

You’ve heard about squirrels causing power outages?
Well, four reactors at a nuclear power plant in France had to be shut down over the weekend due to some fishy circumstances.

Hubble telescope captures image of an interstellar visitor’s drive-by
It’s the fastest object that originated outside of our solar system to be observed traveling through it.

Caffeinated coffees are mostly free of toxins
But there are a few exceptions, a new investigation discovered.

Up for some ‘Camp Rock’ nostalgia?
The Jonas Brothers were discussing the 2008 hit Disney movie during their concert over the weekend when they brought out a surprise guest for an impromptu sing-along.

“Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.” — Pop superstar Madonna, calling on Pope Leo XIV in an Instagram message on Monday to embark on a humanitarian mission to Gaza.

$50 million: That’s how much reward money the Trump administration is offering for the arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. He is accused of working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine. 

Studies show English speakers start feeling uncomfortable after a 4-secong pause in conversation, while Japanese speakers are at ease with silences lasting up to 8 seconds.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Portsmouth, UK
‘I snapped this photo during the annual kite festival. It was a gloomy day, with clouds blanketing the sun until the last few hours, when the skies cleared, making the spectacular kites pop.’
Photograph: Sebastian Kettley
Dorset, UK
‘The Milky Way core rises above an old fishing boat, the Phoenix, and a rusting fishing shack on Chesil Beach.’
Photograph: Harvey Grenville

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
‘Going wild – a swathe of summer flowers on a local allotment.’
Photograph: Joanna Rimmer
Market Closes for Aug 12^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44458.61	+483.52
		+1.10%
S&P 500	6445.76	+72.31
		+1.13%
NASDAQ	21681.91	+296.51
		+1.39%
TSX	27921.26	+146.03
		+0.53%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	42718.17	+897.69
		+2.15%
HANG SENG	24969.68	+62.87
		+0.25%
SENSEX	80235.59	-368.49
		-0.46%
FTSE 100*	9147.81	+18.10
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.434	3.394
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.812	3.761
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2888	4.2849
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8786	4.8524

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7260	0.7259
US $	1.3774	1.3776

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6082	0.6218
US $	1.1675	0.8565

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3356.40	3394.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.17	63.96

Market Commentary:
There are only three ways to meet the unpaid bills of a nation. The first is taxation. The second is repudiation. The third is inflation. -Herbert Hoover, 1874-1964.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.5%, or 146.03 to 27,921.26 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.2%.
Altus Group Ltd/Canada had the largest increase, rising 9.5%.
Today, 160 of 211 shares rose, while 48 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.

Insights
* The index advanced 25% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2% below its 52-week high on Aug. 7, 2025, and 25.6% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3% 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 20.1 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.47t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.73% compared with 9.76% in the previous session and the average of 7.29% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | 64.1379| 0.7| 17/7
Materials | 36.4844| 0.9| 39/9
Industrials | 10.9305| 0.3| 23/6
Information Technology | 10.3033| 0.3| 7/3
Energy | 9.8115| 0.2| 31/7
Real Estate | 5.2537| 1.1| 15/3
Communication Services | 3.8520| 0.6| 5/0
Consumer Discretionary | 3.4046| 0.4| 6/3
Consumer Staples | 1.7807| 0.2| 8/2
Health Care | 1.0791| 1.6| 3/0
Utilities | -0.9985| -0.1| 6/8
Shopify | 20.6300| 1.2| -30.0| 34.5
RBC | 18.4100| 1.0| -44.7| 7.2
Brookfield Corp | 16.5600| 1.9| -11.7| 9.4
Thomson Reuters | -6.0250| -2.6| 54.2| 1.7
Waste Connections | -7.5230| -1.6| 5.1| 4.7
Constellation | Software | -16.6400| -2.5| 30.1| 5.3
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up for a second-straight day Tuesday, and with a late flurry of buying managed to eke out a fresh record close by just about the narrowest of margins, amid some signs that market confidence around the outlook for the Canadian economy is being matched in investor circles.
Even with commodity prices lower, the resources heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 146.03 points, or 0.5%, at 27,921.26, topping the prior record of 27,920.87 set on August 6.
Most were sectors higher, led by Base Metals and Health Care, both up about 2%.
On signs of confidence around the Canadian economy, RBC Assistant Chief Economist Robert Hogue noted the first half of the year was marred with challenges for Canada’s housing market.
That made RBC rethink its forecasts, and the bank is now projecting that Canadian home resales will decline by 3.5% in 2025 from last year.
RBC noted the trade war derailed an early recovery in home demand.
But the bank is expecting that to get back on track in the second half of the year, setting up stronger demand in 2026.
However, the bank added, it will take longer for home prices to pick up in some regions.
Of commodities, gold futures edged lower late afternoon Tuesday even as the dollar and treasury yields fell after a report showed U.S. inflation was steady last month, keeping expectations for a coming cut to U.S. interest rates in place.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down $6.10 to US$3,398.60 an ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to the lowest in more than two months on Tuesday after the Energy Information Administration slashed its price forecast amid rising supplies.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed $0.79 to settle at US$63.17 per barrel, the lowest since May 30, while October Brent crude was last seen down $0.53 to US$66.10.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Calm prevailed across Wall Street as an in- line inflation reading bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve will have room to cut rates in September, driving stocks higher and short-dated bond yields lower.
All major US equity indexes climbed more than 1%, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 hitting all-time highs.
The Russell 2000 of smaller firms jumped 3%.
While an initial rally in Treasuries faded, money markets priced in an about 90% chance of a Fed reduction next month.
Two-year yields, more sensitive to imminent policy moves, slid four basis points to 3.73%.
The dollar fell.
Underlying US inflation accelerated to the strongest since the start of the year, but a tepid rise in goods prices tempered concerns about tariff-driven pressures.
“Inflation is on the rise, but it didn’t increase as much as some people feared,” said Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“In the short term, markets will likely embrace these numbers because they should allow the Fed to focus on labor-market weakness and keep a September rate cut on the table.”
With risks to the labor market rising, the Fed would likely tolerate temporarily higher-than-expected inflation prints — provided that the risk of second-round effects remains contained and price expectations stay well-anchored, according to Marco Casiraghi at Evercore.
“I think the real thing now to think about is should we get a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business.
He said the Fed could have cut rates in June or July if they’d had the “original” jobs reports numbers.
For equities, renewed bets on lower rates added to a rally driven by persistent enthusiasm over artificial intelligence and strong corporate earnings.
“Stocks can continue to move higher, and it is going to take a much larger inflation number – or other shock to the market – for a correction to commence,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
The core consumer price index, which excludes the often-volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.3% from June, the strongest pace since the start of the year.
That was in line with economists’ forecasts, as was the overall CPI monthly.
“This data, together with recent consumer surveys show moderating inflation expectations and slowing labor market momentum, provides a reasonable backdrop for the Federal Reserve to begin rate normalization in September, even if year-over-year inflation remains above target,” said Tiffany Wilding at Pacific Investment Management Co.
US officials have kept rates unchanged this year in hopes of gaining clarity on whether tariffs will lead to sustained inflation.
At the same time, the labor market — the other half of their dual policy mandate — is showing signs of losing momentum.
In a social media post, President Donald Trump resumed his criticism of Jerome Powell over the central bank’s decision to hold rates steady.
Trump also said he is weighing a lawsuit against the Fed chief over the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters – a project whose cost overruns have drawn scrutiny.
EJ Antoni, Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has suggested suspending the agency’s monthly jobs reports and publishing only quarterly numbers until issues with data collection are corrected.
Fed Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said uncertainty over the direction of the economy is decreasing, but it’s unclear whether the central bank should concentrate more on controlling inflation or bolstering the job market.
“The Fed’s policy stance is highly data-dependent, and with inflation contained and labor market softness increasingly evident in revised payroll data, the emphasis will now be skewed toward employment,” said Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo at Goldman
Sachs Asset Management.
“This inflation print supports the narrative of an insurance rate cut in September, which will be a key driving force for the markets.”
To Skyler Weinand at Regan Capital, Tuesday’s CPI data was tame enough that it gives the Fed the green light to cut rates by at least 25 basis points in September and opens the possibility of a larger 50 basis point cut.
“Inflation remains under control for the moment, which means the risks are tilting toward the Fed’s full employment mandate,” said Jason Pride at Glenmede.
“The stars appear to be aligning for a September rate cut.”
Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research said the market reaction to today’s data is “surprising.”
“Stocks are rallying because a September cut is a lock; however, if I take the data at face value, it implies that tariffs are not being passed onto consumers, which means firms are tolerating a profits margin squeeze for the time being,” he said.
At TradeStation, David Russell says that while Wall Street is breathing a sigh of relief, anxiety will likely continue as tariffs work their way through supply chains.
“Tread carefully here,” said Callie Cox at Ritholtz Wealth Management.
“Long-term investors often benefit from buying the dip, but that doesn’t mean the road will be smooth.
We’ve maintained that it’s a good time to know what you own, and to pare gains in runaway sectors exposed to tariffs.”
“This could be the calm before the storm,” said Greg McBride at Bankrate.
“A slew of tariffs are taking effect this month.
It may take a few months before those costs make their way fully to the consumer, but inflation is poised to pick up further in the remainder of 2025.”
There is some sign of tariff pass through to consumer prices but, at this stage, it is not significant enough to ring alarm bells, according to Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management.
“Markets like today’s inflation print as it means the Fed can lower rates unheeded next month, she said.
“Rate-cut decisions in October, December and beyond may well be more complicated.”
With CPI out of the way, the focus will shift to Friday’s retail sales figure, where we’ll see if consumers appear as upbeat as corporate earnings commentary has made them seem and amid worries about the labor market, according to Bret Kenwell at eToro.
In other economic news, US tariff revenue reached a fresh monthly record in July, though the increase wasn’t enough to prevent a widening in the monthly budget deficit — pointing to the federal government’s continuing fiscal challenges.

Corporate Highlights:
* Cava Group Inc. trimmed its annual sales outlook after a sharp deceleration in the second quarter as skittish diners spent less on restaurant meals, showing the pressure the brand is facing to keep up with its speedy growth in recent years.
* AI startup Perplexity made a formal offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, an audacious bid to get ahead of a potential requirement for the search giant to sell the web browser in US antitrust proceedings.
* Just two months after one of the splashiest public debuts in years, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. said revenue rose more than expected, sending its shares soaring.
* Gildan Activewear Inc. is in advanced talks to buy US underwear maker Hanesbrands Inc., people familiar with the matter said, in what would be its largest ever acquisition.
* The combination of Padcev, a bladder cancer drug from Pfizer Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc., and Merck & Co.’s blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda extended the lives of patients with a hard-to-treat form of the disease.
* If Novo Nordisk A/S’s wildly popular weight-loss drug succeeds in a highly anticipated trial for Alzheimer’s disease, Biogen Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher doesn’t see it as a roadblock for his company’s medication. Rather, he sees it as an opportunity to potentially combine drugs and create a more potent therapy.
* Insmed Inc. rose after US regulators approved its drug Brinsupri as the first treatment for a debilitating lung condition, ending two centuries of waiting and paving the way for a potential new blockbuster.
* Smithfield Foods Inc., the largest pork supplier in the US, raised its full-year profit expectations as a rebound in its hog business counterbalances the impact of tariffs.
* Cargill Inc. revenue declined to the lowest in four years as the largest private company in the US continues to restructure in the face of declining crop prices and a shrinking American cattle herd.
* Opendoor Technologies Inc. has resumed its surge after cryptocurrency investor and influential newsletter writer and podcaster Anthony Pompliano said he’d bought shares in the digital real estate firm.
* China Evergrande Group said its Hong Kong stock will be delisted, marking the end of an era for the former high-flying developer whose demise came to symbolize the country’s property bust.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%
* The MSCI World Index rose 1.1%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.2%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1675
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3495
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 147.76 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $119,673.86
* Ether rose 6.4% to $4,519.45
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.74%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.63%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 3.73%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.88%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $63.18 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,347.79 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it. –John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
August 11, 1973: Hip hop is born at a Bronx block party hosted by DJ Kool Herc, later celebrated as the genre’s founding moment.
August 11, 1998: British Petroleum purchased Amoco for $49 billion.  This deal marked the beginning of a wave of “supermajor” oil mergers, influencing subsequent mega-mergers
like Exxon-Mobil.  Go to article.

August 11, 1965: Watts Riot, Los Angeles.
Alex Haley, author, b. 1921.

After Mount Vesuvius erupted, Romans returned to Pompeii and stayed for 400 years — but it was likely anarchy
New excavations in Pompeii’s Insula Meridionalis quarter have confirmed long-held suspicions that people returned to the ancient Roman city after the volcanic eruption in A.D. 79. Read More.

‘Like a creeping mold that’s spreading across the landscape’: Separate dry areas around the world are merging into ‘mega-drying’ regions at an alarming rate, study finds
Unchecked groundwater extraction and climate change have dried continents significantly over the past 22 years, with 101 countries now losing fresh water to the ocean, research reveals. Read More.

Venus and Jupiter conjunction: How to watch the 2 brightest planets ‘kiss’ on Aug. 12
Venus and Jupiter will meet in a conjunction in the early morning hours of Aug. 12. Here’s everything you need to know to spot the two brightest planets at their best. Read More.

How ‘flying boats’ are bringing EVs to the ocean — with the help of LeBron James and Tom Brady
A new electric motorsport championship is making an ambitious pitch to bring electric engines to the ocean — and Will Smith, LeBron James and Tom Brady are along for the ride.

Flooding reveals 100-million-year-old footprints
A volunteer found the dinosaur tracks while removing debris in central Texas. 

There’s a giant blob of incredibly hot rock beneath New Hampshire
And apparently, it may be a part of the reason the Appalachian Mountains are still standing tall.

‘Weapons’ scares away the competition
The horror movie grossed over $42 million domestically and topped the box office over the weekend.

“There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy.” — Actor Tom Hanks, sharing this tribute on his Instagram page about the astronaut who died on Aug. 7. Hanks played Lovell in the 1995 Oscar-winning movie “Apollo 13.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hechi, China
The Cliff Bookstore, built into a 100m-year-old cliff face, attracts tourists to its location on the edge of a sinkhole in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region
Photograph: Long Tao/VCG/Getty Images

Gjakova, Kosovo
A diver jumps from a bridge into the White Drin River during a traditional high diving competition
Photograph: Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Istanbul, Turkey
The full moon rises behind the city’s Galata tower
Market Closes for Aug 11^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	43975.09	-200.52
		-0.45%
S&P 500	6373.45	-16.00
		-0.25%
NASDAQ	21385.41	-64.61
		-0.30%
TSX	27775.23	+16.55
		+0.06%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	41820.48	+761.33
		+1.85%
HANG SENG	24906.81	+47.99
		+0.19%
SENSEX	80604.08	+746.29
		+0.93%
FTSE 100*	9129.71	+33.98
		+0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.394	3.383
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.761	3.753
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2849	4.2829
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8524	4.8494

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7259	0.7271
US $	1.3776	1.3753

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6000	0.6250
US $	1.1617	0.8608

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3394.15	3383.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.96	63.88

Market Commentary:
I am tariff man, standing on a tariff platform. -William McKinley, 1843-1901.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 27,775.23 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s little change.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 109 of 212 shares rose, while 100 fell.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.4%.
Bausch Health Cos. had the largest increase, rising 16.1%.

Insights
* The index advanced 24% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7% below its 52-week high on Aug. 7, 2025, and 25% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.8% in the past 5 days and rose 2.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.47t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.76% compared with 9.82% in the previous session and the average of 7.11% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | 12.1633| 0.1| 17/8
Industrials | 10.9601| 0.3| 17/11
Energy | 6.3541| 0.1| 18/21
Consumer Discretionary | 5.3370| 0.6| 6/3
Consumer Staples | 3.1590| 0.3| 7/3
Health Care | 2.7506| 4.2| 2/1
Communication Services | 0.6660| 0.1| 3/2
Utilities | -0.4888| 0.0| 8/6
Information Technology | -0.9860| 0.0| 1/9
Real Estate | -3.5550| -0.7| 6/12
Materials | -19.8031| -0.5| 24/24
Constellation | Software | 27.8200| 4.4| 47.2| 8.0
RBC | 14.8300| 0.8| -26.3| 6.1
Enbridge | 11.8900| 1.2| 166.3| 7.3
Barrick Mining | -9.1380| -2.4| 165.7| 41.1
Wheaton Precious | Metals | -13.5200| -3.1| 25.3| 66.0
Shopify | -20.7800| -1.2| -24.1| 32.9
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange eked out its first rise in three sessions on Monday, buoyed by cannabis stocks amid talk of a possible reclassification in the United States, while Rosenberg Research said its scorecard for Canadian equities remains above that of the United States.
Despite mixed commodity prices, the resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index managed to close 16.55 points at 27,775.23, with most sectors up, led by Health Care, near 5% higher, on the strength of cannabis issues.
Energy was the biggest loser, down near 1%.
Cannabis listings jumped Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is looking at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
Among dual listed stocks, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO, ACB) was up more than 16%, and Cronos (CRON.TO, CRON) was up near 15% and Tilray (TLRY.TO, TLRY) was up 40%.
Looking at the big picture for equities, Rosenberg Research in its latest ‘Strategizer’, a monthly guidebook for active investors, said its U.S.-focused asset allocation model is unchanged from last month, retaining a minus 10 percentage point underweight in equities (45%) while overweighting both fixed income (45%) and cash (10%).
Strategizer’s Canadian equity model score fell for the third month in a row, down to 24.6 from 29.0 and breaking into “underweight” territory in the process.
Rosenberg Research continues to note extreme volatility in its model’s view on Canada of late, sitting at the highest score since October 2024 just three months ago to now sitting at the lowest score since August 2021.
It said while optimism around the new government under Prime Minister Mark Carney and, more recently, the potential resumption in Bank of Canada rate cuts ahead, have both helped to push up the index towards new highs, the price action has superseded underlying earnings momentum and dragged the scorecard lower.
Though, the research noted, it remains above that of the United States.
Strategizer is “approaching max. bearish on U.S. stocks”.
At the sector level, its Canadian equity model keeps Financials (#1) and Materials (#2) in the group of favored sectors, joined by a tie for #3 between Energy and Real Estate.
Industrials (#8 from #3) and Communication Services (#5 from #4) have fallen out of the top rankings.
Meanwhile, Strategizer’s commodity model pulled back “a touch” in July, declining to a score of 56.0 from 58.2.
Following more bullish readings of a year ago (CRB spot index up about 6% since), Strategizer “retains its constructive overall view with prior commentary remaining consistent”.
According to the Strategizer, median time-spreads are depressed, at a 38^th percentile reading, which is indicative of loosening supply.
It said: “This is consistent with a sluggish global growth backdrop.
Positioning data are reflective of this, maintaining a very light portion of investors’ portfolios (30th percentile; contrarian positive), as are cheap valuations”.
In other words, it added, negativity is warranted but is properly discounted “in the price.”
The result is the risk of a “positive” surprise relative to expectations, it noted.
Aluminum (#1), wheat (#2), RBOB gasoline (#3), WTI crude (#4), and heating oil (#5) make up the individual components at the top of Strategizer’s individual commodity rankings.
The Strategizer said this mix is reflective of the broadening out across select commodity markets, from metals, to agriculture, to energy, relative to prior months that were dominated by one subgroup.
It was mostly energy prior to this, for example, it added.
On gold, specifically, the research noted a pullback in the Strategizer model score to 26.8 from 31.5, with the yellow metal once again making a push to new record highs above US$3,400 per ounce.
“Long-term,” the research said, “we remain bullish, but this recent period of consolidation/range-trading since April has kept our model’s near-term outlook as a ‘hold’.”
Of commodities today, gold was sharply lower late afternoon Monday as confusion over whether the U.S. will impose tariffs on imports of gold bars continues.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down $89.60 per ounce to US$3,401.70 per ounce, after rising as high as US$3,543.10 on Friday in volatile intraday trade.
But West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged up from a two-month low despite rising supply as the market focuses on Friday’s planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed up $0.08 to settle at US$63.96 per barrel, rising off the lowest since June 5, while October Brent oil was seen up $0.16 to US$66.75.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street refrained from making big bets ahead of key inflation report, with a rally in stocks stalling near record highs.
Bonds wavered.
The dollar edged up.
Markets barely budged on a news report that Donald Trump is extending a tariff truce with China.
Investors are turning to economic data for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will be able cut rates in September.
Meantime, Trump signed an order extending the truce with the Asian nation for 90 days, CNBC reported.
The S&P 500 remained below 6,400.
Mega caps were mixed, with Tesla Inc. up and Apple Inc. down.
The US president signaled he’d be open to allowing Nvidia Corp. to sell a scaled-back version of its most advanced AI chip to China.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.28%.
A dollar gauge rose 0.2%.
Bitcoin briefly topped $122,000.
Gold futures pared losses as Trump said gold imports will not face US tariffs.
Data due Tuesday is forecast to show US consumers saw a slight pickup in inflation as retailers gradually raised prices on a variety of items subject to higher import duties.
“The market’s reaction to any surprises in the numbers could be exaggerated — especially if a significantly hotter- than-expected CPI print leads traders to believe the Fed may not cut rates at its next meeting,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
The Fed’s two vice chairs, Michelle Bowman and Philip Jefferson, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan are under consideration to serve as chair of the central bank when the position opens next year, according to two administration officials.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will interview additional candidates in the coming weeks, said the officials.
A survey conducted by 22V Research shows 18% of investors believe that the market reaction to CPI will be “risk-on,” 43% said “mixed” and 39% “risk-off”.
The core consumer price index, regarded as a measure of underlying inflation because it strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3% in July, according to the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
“There is no doubt about it, CPI, will not be good tomorrow,” said Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities.
“The bigger question is ‘does it matter?’ We think not.
Inflation will remain sticky, with potholes, but a weakening employment situation will commandeer the Fed outlook.”
Money markets show traders have priced in more than two rate reductions by December, with an about 80% probability of a quarter-point Fed cut as early as next month.
There’s a 70% chance of further gains in the S&P 500 after the inflation report, according to the JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Market Intelligence team led by Andrew Tyler.
They predict the S&P 500 will advance as much as 2% if the data is either in-line or cooler than estimated.
A hot report could spark declines of nearly 3%.
“There’s little evidence that tariffs are biting,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“Retail flows remain strong, institutions are hesitant but still buyers, and share repurchase activity is on pace to hit a record.”
He continues to expect a “sideways trend” until a broader reset later this year.
A light print on US CPI data this week could mean small caps and lower quality stocks would “gain more durable footing,” according to Morgan Stanley strategists led by Michael Wilson.
“We think it makes sense for equity investors to stay nimble” around the report.
Meantime, strategists at Citigroup Inc. raised their year- end target for the S&P 500 to 6,600 points from 6,300.
Companies have produced “an impressive beat,” while also mostly sticking with their projections for the second-half of the year, the team led by Scott Chronert said.
US companies struck a more positive tone last week on post- earnings conference calls, although there’s still uncertainty around consumer demand and capex, according to RBC Capital Markets strategists led by Lori Calvasina.
“For now, investors are choosing to focus on what they can see in front of them, which is stronger-than-expected earnings growth, a durable AI secular theme, and a still firm economic backdrop,” said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.
However, Saglimbene said this week’s key inflation data and reads on the consumer could challenge investors’ rather complacent view of the potential risks to growth.
“Yet, until there is more concrete evidence of tariff impacts, investors appear comfortable putting those risks to the side for now,” he noted.
A record share of fund managers sees US stocks as too expensive after the sharp rally since April lows, according to a monthly survey by Bank of America Corp.
About 91% of participants indicated that US stocks are overvalued, the highest ever proportion in data going back to 2001.
“We think investors already allocated to equities in line with their strategic benchmarks should consider implementing short-term hedges, while those under-allocated can prepare to add exposure on potential market dips,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Meantime, interest-rate strategists at BofA lowered Treasury yield forecasts in anticipation that recent economic data will drive a shift in the Fed’s assessment of risks.
Strategists led by Mark Cabana cut their year-end forecast for two-year yields to 3.5%, from 3.75% previously.
They see 10- year yields at 4.25% by the end of December compared with the previous estimate of 4.5%.
On the geopolitical front, President Trump downplayed expectations for his upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as he seeks to end the war in Ukraine, casting it as a “feel-out meeting” and saying he would confer with Ukrainian and European leaders after the sitdown.
Trump also said he hopes China will massively step up its purchases of American soybeans, even as China has yet to book any cargoes for the upcoming season.

Corporate Highlights:
* Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. have agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in an unusual deal that threatens to set a precedent for American companies doing business in the Asian nation.
* Intel Corp. Chief Executive officer Lip-Bu Tan was expected to meet with Donald Trump, four days after the US president called for Tan’s resignation, citing conflicts of interest.
* Micron Technology Inc. raised its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings outlook, citing “improved pricing” for a key product.
* The Trump administration released new guidance outlining how states can use federal funds to build electric-car chargers after a federal court blocked an earlier move to freeze the program.
* C3.ai Inc. tumbled after a steep sales miss the software company attributed to its founder’s health issues.
* Rumble Inc. is weighing an offer to buy German data center company Northern Data AG in an all-stock deal valuing the target at about $1.17 billion that would boost the conservative video service’s bid to become a cloud-computing provider.
* Ford Motor Co. unveiled plans for a new line of budget electric vehicles in a $5 billion bid to achieve the mass appeal that has so far eluded its money-losing EV business.
* General Motors Co. is seeking to lure back some former employees of its defunct Cruise autonomous-vehicle business as part of a renewed push to develop a new driverless car, according to people familiar with the matter.
* An explosion at United States Steel Corp.’s Clairton Coke Works plant in Pennsylvania on Monday left dozens of workers injured or trapped, according to multiple news reports.
* Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and Fox Corp. plan to offer a bundled package that will include both of their new streaming services for $40 a month.
* Paramount has acquired the exclusive rights to show all events from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the US over the next seven years, the companies announced Monday, a $7.7 billion deal designed to boost the Paramount+ streaming service.
* Shares of North American lithium producers soared as investors bet that the suspension of a major Chinese mine would ease a supply glut and likely lead to a rebound in prices.
* Management of Orsted A/S failed to convince analysts and investors that the company is at a turning point after losing nearly one third of its value from announcing it would sell shares.
* Barrick Mining Corp. posted a net charge of $1.04 billion related to the seizure of its vast Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex by Mali’s military junta.
* Electricite de France SA was forced to shut four atomic reactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged up filter drums at its Gravelines power plant.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“US stocks no longer look like a one-sided market chasing upside, and any rallies driven by expectations for Federal Reserve support are primed for a sharp unwind if the narrative of a dovish pivot is challenged.”
– Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 3:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.2%
* The Russell 2000 Index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1611
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3433
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 148.14 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $119,678.58
* Ether rose 1.8% to $4,293.07
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.28%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.70%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.57%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.76%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.84%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $64.03 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 1.2% to $3,356.65 an ounce

Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear. –George Addair, 1823-1899.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!  Full moon this weekend.🌕

August 8, 1899: Albert T. Marshall is issued a patent for an early domestic refrigerator, featuring an automatic motor cut-off safety mechanism.
On Aug. 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced he would resign following damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.  Go to article.

Dustin Hoffman, actor, b. 1937
The Edge, musician, b. 1961.
Roger Federer, tennis player, b. 1981.

Proposed spacecraft could carry up to 2,400 people on a one-way trip to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri
The design for a 36 mile long spacecraft, called Chrysalis, includes libraries, tropical forests and structural manufacturing facilities, all supported by artificial gravity.  Read More.

‘Oddly shaped head’ left in Italian cave 12,500 years ago is Europe’s oldest known case of cranial modification, study finds
A Stone Age skull discovered in a cave in Italy is the oldest evidence of artificial cranial modification ever found in Europe. Read More

NASA finds multi-billion-year-old ‘coral’ on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has snapped black and white images of a rock on the Martian surface that looks remarkably like a piece of coral. Read More.

Scientists synthesized elusive ‘super alcohol’ — a ‘seed of life molecule’ that marks a step toward finding alien life
Scientists have synthesized methanetetrol, an elusive alcohol that could be the foundation of alien life. Read More.

Stone Age family may have been cannibalized for ‘ultimate elimination’ 5,600 years ago, study suggests. 
Researchers have found cannibalized human remains from at least 11 people in El Mirador cave in northern Spain, suggesting it was the site of a violent Neolithic clash 5,600 years ago. Read More.

Amtrak announces debut date for new Acela trains
The faster trains will service the Northeast Corridor between Washington, DC, New York City and Boston.
Butch Wilmore is retiring from NASA
The astronaut was part of a troubled mission that left him and NASA astronaut Suni Williams aboard the International Space Station far longer than expected.

Underwater jetpack ‘feels superhuman’
This toy, priced a shade below $30,000, will allow riders to zip beneath the surface of the ocean for as long as they can hold their breath.

Dunkin debuts a new booze drink
And it’s rum-based.

199 mph That’s around how fast one motorist was clocked while driving on the Autobahn in Germany.  

Kristin Scott Thomas does triple duty for new film 
Thomas makes her directorial debut with “My Mother’s Wedding,” which will be released in theaters today. She also wrote the script for the movie and stars in it. (Fans of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” will be particularly intrigued to see whom the mother is marrying.)

Here’s a column by David Brooks on well-being around the world.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Singapore
Robbie Lee of Team Great Britain competes in the men’s 10m platform preliminaries during the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Photograph: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Ankara, Turkey
A Turkish angora cat peeks out from a wooden shelter at the Ankara Cat Protection, Survival and Promotion Centre at Ankara University. The veterinary faculty houses cats in safe conditions and helps them find new homes
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Budapest
Hungary Members of the Spanish zenit aerial ballet present their performance entitled Aria at the 31st Sziget (Island) festival on Shipyard Island
Photograph: Tamas Vasvari/EPA
Market Closes for Aug 8^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44175.61	+206.97
		+0.47%
S&P 500	6389.45	+49.45
		+0.78%
NASDAQ	21450.02	+207.32
		+0.98%
TSX	27758.68	-2.59
		-0.01%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	41820.48	+761.33
		+1.85%
HANG SENG	24858.82	-222.81
		-0.89%
SENSEX	79857.79	-765.47
		-0.95%
FTSE 100*	9095.73	-5.04
		-0.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.383	3.392
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.753	3.747
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2829	4.2500
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8494	4.8261

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7271	0.7280
US $	1.3753	1.3736

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6012	0.6245
US $	1.1645	0.8587

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3383.75	3372.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.88	63.88

Market Commentary:
Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion. –William Edwards Deming, 1900-1993.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 27,758.68 in Toronto.
Sun Life Financial Inc. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 8.0%.
Today, 106 of 212 shares fell, while 104 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.

Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.7%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Sept. 13
* The index advanced 25% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.8% below its 52-week high on Aug. 7, 2025 and 26.5% above its low on Aug. 8, 2024
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.8 on a trailing basis and 17.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.47t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.82% compared with 9.96% in the previous session and the average of 6.82% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | -16.7056| -0.2| 14/11
Consumer Discretionary | -9.8156| -1.1| 0/9
Energy | -9.1341| -0.2| 16/22
Information Technology | -6.0697| -0.2| 5/5
Utilities | -0.8414| -0.1| 5/9
Real Estate | -0.2303| 0.0| 8/11
Health Care | 0.8156| 1.3| 3/0
Industrials | 2.9554| 0.1| 16/13
Consumer Staples | 4.5979| 0.5| 5/5
Communication Services | 7.9543| 1.3| 4/1
Materials | 23.8817| 0.6| 28/20
Sun Life Financial | -26.5700| -8.0| 285.1| -8.8
Shopify | -14.8200| -0.8| -24.8| 34.5
Pembina Pipeline | -7.4330| -3.6| 109.5| -7.9
TD Bank | 6.2630| 0.5| -69.6| 31.7
Open Text | 7.0120| 10.0| 149.1| 4.5
Celestica | 7.5950| 3.4| -5.2| 115.5
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange edged down Friday to end a mixed holiday-shortened week that produced two successive record closes before two negative sessions, as Canada Prime Minister, Mark Carney, moved to allay market concerns around an ongoing trade spat with the United States, and a weak domestic jobs report for July.
Reflecting volatility in closing commodity prices, the S&P/TSX Composite Index edged in to negative territory late in Friday’s session and finished 2.59 points lower at 27,758.68, even with most sectors higher.
In the latest on trade, Prime Minister Carney took questions on the fringes of an event in Ontario on Friday.
Almost inevitably he was asked about the ongoing trade spat with the United States, and specifically about the warning this week from Ontario Premier Doug Ford that he believes President Donald Trump will be coming at Canada with “double barrels” when it comes to renegotiating the existing free trade deal between the countries, known as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Ford said the U.S. president could move to reopen talks as early as November 2025.
Carney began by noting that 85% of Canadian exports to the U.S. are currently tariff free, while retaliatory tariffs are set in such a way that they a “minimum impact” on Canadians.
He also noted many of the issues that have come up in tariff talks with the U.S. are likely to be issues too when CUSMA talks start, they being issues around strategic sectors like steel, aluminum, autos, lumber.
“From our perspective, we are concentrating on those areas where our economies are deeply integrated and working for win-win solutions between the two countries.”
A CUSMA review, Carney noted, is slated for about nine months from now, and he said it is natural that consultations will begin in advance of that.
“We [the Canadian federal government ministers] are very conscious that there are a couple of negotiations in sequence and the extent to which those negotiations can be brought together … that is in the interests of all parties.”
A sign, perhaps, that the Canadian government is looking to at least delay the possibility of all out-trade war between the North America neighbors.
On the jobs front, Statistics Canada on Friday reported 41,000 job losses last month, while economists had expected a slight gain.
The unemployment rate was steady at 6.9% in July as StatCan said the number of job seekers held steady month-to-month.
Average hourly wages rose 3.3% on an annual basis in July.
Carney when asked about the jobs data noted the gains had been strong in June, while down in July.
He said it was interesting that, in terms of geographic spread, there were more job losses in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in terms of sectors, less in manufacturing.
He noted the jobless rate held steady, and that wage growth was “outpacing” inflation.
Carney said wage growth, combined with recent federal tax cuts and the removal of a consumer carbon tax, indicate “progress” in terms of living costs for Canadians, even if more work still needs to be done.
Of commodities today, gold surged to an intraday record high of US$3,534.10 on Friday after the Financial Times reported the Trump Administration will put tariffs on imports of gold bars.
However, Bloomberg News later on Friday reported the administration called news of the tariff “misinformation” and it will issue an executive order to clarify that gold bars are not subject to tariffs.
The precious metal’s futures price immediately gave up the session’s gains and was last seen up $4.00 to US$3,457.70 per ounce.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed unchanged at a two-month low after falling for six-straight sessions with traders looking to the potential end of Russia’s war on Ukraine as President Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are expected to meet as soon as next week to discuss a ceasefire amid rising supply.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed steady at $63.88 per barrel, while October Brent crude was last seen up $0.17 to US$66.60.
An Israeli plan to take control of Gaza is also in focus.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market saw its best week since June, with a rally in big tech driving the Nasdaq 100 to all- time highs.
Also buoying trader sentiment were hopes the US and Russia will reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine.
Treasuries fell.
Gold whipsawed.
The S&P 500 approached 6,400.
A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” mega caps also hit a record.
Apple Inc. saw its best week since 2020 as plans to spend an additional $100 billion on domestic manufacturing may help the company avoid tariffs.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soared on reports the US is preparing to sell shares in an offering that could start as early as this year.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 4.28%.
The dollar barely budged.
Oil fluctuated.
The Trump administration suggested it would issue a new policy clarifying that imports of gold bars should not face tariffs.
US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bret Kenwell at eToro noted momentum has been strong in equities, and more than 80% of S&P 500 firms have beaten earnings expectations this quarter.
The technicals and the fundamentals have been working in bulls’ favor, he said.
“While an unexpected risk could develop in the second half of 2025, earnings have been better-than-expected and the Fed is inching closer to lower interest rates,” Kenwell noted.
“As long as the economy holds up, there are catalysts in play for stocks to continue higher.”
Trump said tariffs are “having a huge positive impact on the stock market,” adding that “almost every day, new records are set.”
Hundreds of billions of dollars are “pouring into our country’s coffers.”
“Markets rebounded strongly this week with a clear ‘buy on the dip’ mentality,” said Florian Ielpo at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.
“While market sentiment appeared to be waning last week, with subdued reactions to earnings beats, this week clearly demonstrated a different trend.” And that begs the question: are we close to a solid ceiling?
“Our risk appetite indicator shows improvement from last week but clearly has room to grow,” Ielpo said.
At Piper Sandler, Craig Johnson says that while the summer doldrums often lead to modest pullbacks in August and September, investors who have doubted this rally are now forced to “buy the dips… and not sell the rips” to play catch-up.
Despite the solid rebound, nearly $28 billion was redeemed from US stocks in the week through Aug. 6, while money market funds attracted about $107 billion, according to a Bank of America Corp. note from citing EPFR Global data.
“With the major indexes at or near record highs, valuations are rich, and stock selection and diversification are more important than ever,” said Daniel Skelly at Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy Team.
On the macro front, BofA’s Michael Hartnett said a majority of the bank’s clients are betting on a “Goldilocks” outcome, which implies an economy that’s running neither too hot nor too cold.
He said investors expect a scenario where lower rates would fuel a rally in equities.
Kenwell at eToro says that it would be a healthy price action for stocks to consolidate after a big rally — either by pulling back or digesting the move by trading sideways.
“This pullback would likely be viewed as an opportunity for investors to buy the dip rather than run for the hills,” Kenwell said.
“We believe stocks will stay supported amid solid fundamentals, but fresh headlines in the coming week may challenge investor sentiment that remains vulnerable to tariff, economic, and geopolitical risks,” said Ulrike Hoffmann- Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
The next significant directional move in the market will be driven by fundamentals, either through macro resilience driving earnings estimates higher or further cracks in the labor market driving increased recession concerns, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“Given the moderation in technical indicators and the sluggish seasonal shift, a period of consolidation is not unexpected or unhealthy,” he said.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said he supported last week’s decision by policymakers to leave interest rates steady, adding the US central bank is still missing more on the inflation side of its mandate.
Money markets have boosted bets on rate cuts after last week’s weak jobs numbers report.
Swaps currently assign a 95% chance of a Fed reduction in September and price at least one more by year-end.
Traders will soon be looking ahead to next week’s release of US inflation numbers.
“We expect the July CPI report to show that core inflation gained additional momentum,” according to strategists at TD Securities.
“We look for goods prices to gather further steam, as tariff passthrough continues to materialize.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Meta Platforms Inc. has selected Pacific Investment Management Co. and Blue Owl Capital Inc. to lead a $29 billion financing for its data center expansion in rural Louisiana as the race for artificial intelligence infrastructure heats up, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
* Tesla Inc. is disbanding its Dojo team and its leader will leave the company, according to people familiar with the matter, upending the automaker’s effort to build an in-house supercomputer for developing driverless-vehicle technology.
* Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan said he’s got the full backing of the company’s board, responding for the first time to US President Donald Trump’s call for his resignation over conflicts of interest.
* SoftBank Group Corp. is the buyer taking ownership of Foxconn Technology Group’s electric vehicle plant in Ohio, a move aimed at kick-starting the Japanese company’s $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp.
* Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a 26% growth spurt in July, adding to evidence of accelerating spending on artificial intelligence.
* Expedia Group Inc. raised its full-year sales target after reporting strong second-quarter bookings, fueled mainly by its enterprise business as well as improved demand from US consumers.
* Pinterest Inc. reported second-quarter sales that beat analysts’ expectations, but earnings for the second quarter were less than Wall Street expected and user growth in the US and Canada, the company’s most lucrative market, was flat.
* Under Armour Inc. forecast worse-than-expected sales and profit for the current quarter, stalling a turnaround plan that was taking hold.
* Gilead Sciences Inc. lifted its full-year outlook after strong HIV drug sales in the second quarter helped revenue and earnings modestly beat analyst expectations.
* Wendy’s Co. cut its full-year sales guidance after posting a bigger-than-expected quarterly decline, highlighting the economic pressures weighing on the chain’s US business.
* Instacart posted its strongest order growth since 2022 for a second straight quarter and beat earnings estimates for the current period, a sign of resilience in its core delivery business after it rolled out initiatives to cater to price- conscious consumers.
* Trade Desk Inc. reported second-quarter results that spurred multiple downgrades. Firms note growing concerns about competition from Amazon.com Inc.
* Sweetgreen Inc. slashed its sales guidance after a second straight quarter of disappointing results, highlighting the salad chain’s struggles to sell $15 salads to budget-strained diners.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“An improving geopolitical backdrop has become a headwind for oil prices, especially as peace in Ukraine looks closer.
Traders will now increasingly look past geopolitical hurdles, leaving the market uncomfortably exposed to uncertain demand and rising supply.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.7%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.6%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1643
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3450
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 147.75 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $116,464.8
* Ether rose 4.8% to $4,062.95
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.28%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.69%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.60%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.76%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.85%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $63.64 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Anyone who has got a good book collection and a garden wants for nothing. –Cicero, 106 BCE-43 BCE.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.
August 7, 1580: The explorer Sir Francis Drake returns to England from his three-year circumnavigation; of five ships that set off, only one – the Golden Hind – makes it back.
1882: Hatfield-McCoy feud erupts.
August 7, 1942: U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II. Go to article.
1959: First photo of Earth from space is taken.  The US satellite Explorer VI transmitted the first picture of Earth from space.  For the first time we had a likeness of our planet based on more than projections and conjectures.   But it would take years  for the general public to see pictures of the Earth from space.
1964: Gulf of Tonkin resolution.
August 7, 1990: US Desert Shield operation begins.

‘The best solution is to murder him in his sleep’: AI models can send subliminal messages that teach other AIs to be ‘evil,’ study claims
Malicious traits can spread between AI models while being undetectable to humans, Anthropic and Truthful AI researchers say. Read More.

1.5 million-year-old stone tools from mystery human relative discovered in Indonesia — they reached the region before our species even existed
A handful of stone tools found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has pushed back the date that human relatives arrived in the region.

Sturgeon Moon 2025: What makes August’s full moon a special 2-night affair
In a rare skywatching treat, you can see August’s full Sturgeon Moon rise soon after sunset on both Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10. Read More.

Mystery of why sea stars keep turning into goo finally solved — and it’s not what scientists thought
A new study has found that the devastating sea star wasting disease is caused by a strain of bacteria from Vibrio pectenicida, which turns the marine creatures into goo.

Giant bridge gets green light
After decades of discussion, Italy has approved a multibillion-euro project to build what will be the world’s longest single-span bridge linking Sicily to the mainland.
Royal Ballet and Opera cancels performance in Israel
The famed British company had planned to stage the opera, “Tosca,” which dramatizes the “devastation of war,” in Tel Aviv next year.

That intense scene from ‘Marriage Story’ is great …
And now it’s being used to scare wolves that have been eating livestock from farms on the West Coast.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Deeping St Nicholas, UK
An estimated 1.5m sunflowers are grown each year at Vine House Farm, which supplies bird food; the farm has won conservation awards and supports the British Trust for Ornithology
Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Nevşehir, Turkey
Hot air balloons create a visual spectacle as part of the Turkey Culture Route festival, an annual series of events across the country organised by the ministry of culture and tourism
Photograph: Behcet Alkan/Anadolu/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Beijing, China
Robots perform in a band at the Robot Mall, said to be the world’s first humanoid intelligent robot store
Photograph: Mahesh Kumar A/AP
Market Closes for Aug 7^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	43968.64	-224.48
		-0.51%
S&P 500	6340.00	-5.06
		-0.08%
NASDAQ	21242.70	+73.28
		+0.35%
TSX	27761.27	-159.60
		-0.57%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	41059.15	+264.29
		+0.65%
HANG SENG	25081.63	+171.00
		+0.69%
SENSEX	80623.25	+79.26
		+0.10%
FTSE 100*	9100.77	-63.54
		-0.69%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.392	3.406
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.747	3.757
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2500	4.2257
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8261	4.8201

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7280	0.7278
US $	1.3736	1.3740

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6035	0.6236
US $	1.1672	0.8567

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3372.00	3375.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.88	64.35

Market Commentary:
Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future. -Niels Henrik David Bohr, 1885-1962.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6% at 27,761.27 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.3%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 103 of 212 shares fell, while 106 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.5%.
Fortuna Mining Corp. had the largest drop, falling 12.0%.

Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.7%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Sept. 13
* The index advanced 27% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 27.1% above its low on Aug. 7, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.4% in the past 5 days and rose 2.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.8 on a trailing basis and 17.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.5t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.96% compared with 9.96% in the previous session and the average of 6.65% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | -65.6723| -0.7| 12/13
Information Technology | -58.4557| -1.9| 2/8
Industrials | -28.0333| -0.8| 12/17
Energy | -19.6480| -0.4| 18/22
Consumer Discretionary | -19.2494| -2.1| 4/5
Consumer Staples | -4.3382| -0.4| 4/6
Real Estate | -0.4281| -0.1| 11/7
Health Care | -0.1048| -0.2| 0/2
Utilities | 0.7616| 0.1| 7/6
Communication Services | 7.2386| 1.2| 3/2
Materials | 28.3560| 0.7| 33/15
Shopify | -44.8000| -2.5| 37.7| 35.7
Brookfield Corp | -35.8000| -3.8| 46.9| 8.1
Manulife Financial | -19.8800| -3.9| 96.0| -6.4
Barrick Mining | 6.0120| 1.6| 5.4| 42.5
Pan American Silver| 7.1920| 7.0| 77.2| 48.6
Lundin Mining | 7.3180| 10.5| 114.9| 26.5
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower for the first time in four sessions on some profit taking after posting a record close yesterday and also on lingering concerns around the outlook for the Canadian economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 159.6 points, or 0.55%, to 27,761.27, with most sectors lower, led by Info Tech, down about 1.3%, and Energy, down near 1%.
Base Metals was the biggest gainer, up 2.3%.
After investor focus on Wednesday turned to earnings reports from companies like Shopify (SHOP.TO, SHOP) and away domestic economic woes and global trade spats that have dominated for months, the status quo returned today, with Shopify down near 4% and veteran market watcher David Rosenberg reminding Canadians about the uncertain outlook for this nation’s economy.
Rosenberg published ‘Canadian Update: Less “Resilience” than Meets the Eye’ in which he said that after reviewing all of the economic data for Canada, he sees flat GDP and a weak labor market, with more easing likely from the Bank of Canada.
Among key takeaways, Rosenberg noted Canada’s GDP is “roughly flat” for the year to date, with real output per capita still declining.
He said the strong numbers in the Labour Force Survey don’t align with the weaker industrial jobs data, not to mention the declining level of job openings.
“All of this means any inflation will hit the wall in the labor market, meaning that the Bank of Canada should have no fears about easing,” he added.
A recent National Post newspaper article titled ‘Canada’s economy is showing ‘resilience’ against U.S. tariffs. Why?”
caught Rosenberg’s eye. “Resilient, perhaps — but the Canadian economy is still barely showing a pulse despite moderate tax relief, the ‘Buy Canada’ and ‘Travel within Canada’ craze, and the prior aggressive interest rate cuts engineered by the Bank of Canada,” he said.
Rosenberg noted Real GDP shrank by a modest -0.1% MoM in May, the third mild contraction in the past four months and took the YoY trend down to +1.2% from +1.5% a year ago and +1.7% two years ago.
“Slowing and anemic, to be generous,” Rosenberg added.
Bigger picture, The Canadian Press noted U.S. President Donald Trump marked 200 days back in office on Wednesday by again hitting most U.S. trading partners with increased tariffs, days after slapping Canada with a 35% duty, even it that applies only to goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade.
Of commodities, gold traded higher midafternoon Thursday even as the dollar steadied after U.S. initial jobless claims rose more than expected last week, showing a slowing job market.
Gold for December delivery was last seen up $20.10 to US$3,453.50 per ounce, the highest since the July 22 record close of US$3,501.80.
But West Texas Intermediate oil closed at a two-month low, falling for a sixth-straight session as rising supplies offset early gains after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed secondary sanctions on India to discourage the country’s purchases of Russian oil.
WTI crude for September delivery closed down $0.47 to settle at US$63.88 per barrel, the lowest since June 5, while October Brent oil was last seen down $0.28 to US$66.61.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street halted a rally that drove stocks to the brink of a record amid concerns about an overheated market.
Treasuries lost steam as a weak sale of 30-year bonds signaled waning appetite for US debt after a recent surge.
Following an almost 30% surge from its April lows, the S&P 500 closed little changed.
A closely watched gauge of chipmakers jumped, but Intel Corp. slipped 3% as President Donald Trump called on its chief to resign, citing conflicts of interest.
Eli Lilly & Co. tumbled 14% after disappointing data on its new weight-loss pill.
Apple Inc. extended a two-day surge to about 8.5%.
Thursday’s $25 billion Treasury sale followed poor results for three- and 10-year debt auctions this week.
Long-end gains faded, leaving 30-year yields little changed at 4.83%.
The yield on 10-year bonds rose two basis points to 4.25%.
The dollar barely budged.
Whether or not the blistering rally in American equities is about to cool, some big firms have warned clients to prepare for a near-term pullback amid sky-high valuations.
Added to bulls’ worries is seasonality.
August and September have historically been the two worst months for the S&P 500.
“We talk about the potential for ‘air pockets’ in this current environment based primarily on headline risk, which remains elevated in our view,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
“This renders them vulnerable to pullbacks as we enter the second half of 2025.”
Earlier gains in stocks were driven by hopes of a de- escalation of geopolitical risks after the Kremlin said Vladimir Putin and Trump are finalizing details for a meeting.
Equities were also buoyed by Trump’s vow to exempt companies that move production to the US after declaring plans for a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports.
Meantime, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as a top candidate to serve as the central bank’s chair
among President Trump’s advisers as they look for a replacement for Jerome Powell, according to people familiar with the matter.
“I have long believed Waller achieves the President’s aims, gets Powell to give up his seat, which then allows him to fill two seats at the Board of Governors,” said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research.
“The risk with anyone else is that they potentially keep Powell in place and end up being a Chairman in Name Only.”
Trump said he had chosen Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve as a Fed governor.
The US president said that Miran, who will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, would only serve the expiring term of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, which expires in January.
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he still views one rate cut as likely this year and reiterated there are reasons to be skeptical that the inflationary effects from tariffs will be temporary.
“Our base case remains that the US effective tariff rate will settle at around 15% — enough to weigh on growth and lift inflation, but not enough to derail the US economy or the equity rally,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
While her firm expects near-term volatility to continue, it advises investors to “stick to their longer-term financial plan.”
On the economic front, US continuing jobless claims surged to the highest since November 2021, adding to recent signs that the labor market is weakening.
Consumer inflation expectations rose, and perceptions of the job market improved, according to a monthly Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey.
Rising inflation expectations will reinforce Fed officials who want to wait longer before cutting interest rates as they assess the impact of tariffs on inflation.
Meantime, Trump signed an executive order easing access to private equity, real estate, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets in 401(k)s, a major victory for industries looking to tap some of the roughly $12.5 trillion held in those retirement accounts.
The US president also signed an executive order aimed at eliminating practices by banks and their regulators that result in certain customers being denied access to financial services for ideological reasons.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England cut rates to the lowest in over two years in a closer-than-expected decision that leaves investors with what Governor Andrew Bailey called “genuine uncertainty” on its next move.
The pound climbed.

Corporate Highlights:
* OpenAI is rolling out a more powerful and long-awaited new artificial intelligence model called GPT-5, vying to stay ahead of increased competition from rivals in the US and China.
* UnitedHealth Group Inc. and home health and hospice care company Amedisys Inc. have reached a proposed a settlement with the US Justice Department in a lawsuit that challenged the companies’ $3.3 billion deal.
* General Motors Co. plans to purchase electric-vehicle batteries from China to power its upcoming entry-level EV until it can procure US-made batteries through its partnership with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.
* Peloton Interactive Inc. projected a sales decline for the current quarter and said it would once again cut jobs, but the company preached confidence in a turnaround plan under new management.
* Airbnb Inc. slid as the short-term rental company warned that sales growth may moderate in the second half of the year.
* Lyft Inc. reported revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations in the second quarter, stoking concerns about its efforts to expand globally.
* DoorDash Inc., the largest food delivery service in the US, issued an outlook for orders in the third quarter that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, a sign that demand for its services remains resilient despite broader concerns about consumer spending.
* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., the parent of HBO and CNN, swung to a profit in the second quarter, buoyed by a string of successes at the box office.
* Duolingo Inc. lifted its earnings forecast for the year, citing the better-than-expected performance of its subscription tiers over the second quarter.
* Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. reported revenue that beat estimates, which analysts attributed in part to a milestone payment for its controversial gene therapy Elevidys.
* Krispy Kreme Inc. posted second-quarter earnings that missed estimates and revealed more details about its turnaround plans.
* Ralph Lauren Corp. reported another quarter of robust growth, but cautioned it wasn’t sure how US consumers would respond to tariffs and price hikes in the second half of the year.
* Crocs Inc. sank on a weaker outlook, with the maker of colorful clogs warning that cautious consumers are further pulling back on spending.
* Kenvue Inc. slashed its full-year sales target as demand continued to deteriorate, and the company searches for a new chief executive officer to help reset the business.

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 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.4%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index rose 1.5%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.3%
* Apple rose 3.2%
* Intel fell 3%
* Eli Lilly fell 14%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1656
* The British pound rose 0.7% to $1.3444
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 147.09 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.1% to $117,543.48
* Ether rose 5.3% to $3,869.72
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.25%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.63%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.55%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.72%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.83%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $63.74 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $3,398.69 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Defeat is a state of mind unless you accept it as reality. –Bruce Lee, 1940-1973.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

August 6, 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
August 6, 1991: Tim Berners-Lee publishes the world’s first website, launching the World Wide Web for public access.

On this day in 1979, Paul Volcker took office as chair of the Federal Reserve. His policies broke the back of 1970s inflation but spurred two recessions.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet, b. 1809.
Lucille Ball, comic actress, b. 1911.
Andy Warhol, artist, b. 1928.

American journalist goes missing in Norway
Alec Luhn, who’s worked for National Geographic, The New York Times and The Atlantic, disappeared while hiking.

Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to lead MI5, died aged 90. She headed Britain’s domestic secret service between 1992 and 1996, and was widely thought to have inspired Dame Judi Dench, an actress, in her depiction of M, the spymaster in James Bond films. After retirement Dame Stella wrote several spy novels that are guilty pleasures.

2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations announced
It’s a crowded field, but Lady Gaga is leading the pack.

Skittles, Hershey and Nestle are removing artificial colors
But nutritionists and public health researchers say don’t buy the hype.

107.2 F:  That’s how hot it was in Japan on Tuesday, the highest-ever temperature recorded in the country. 

A parade of volcanoes is erupting in Russia following an 8.8 earthquake
Six Russian volcanoes erupted shortly after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake stuck nearby, with a seventh possibly to follow.  Read More.

‘Big-butt starfish,’ ‘little sweet potato’ and dozens of never-before-seen species recorded during deep-sea expedition off Argentina
Researchers have captured footage of a “big-butt seastar” off the coast of Argentina that looks like Patrick Star from “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Read More.

Scientists heat gold to 14 times its melting point — without turning it into a liquid
Scientists have used an ultrafast laser to heat solid gold to 14 times its melting point without turning the metal into liquid. Read More.

“It is history forgotten. If this helps renew that interest to thank all the people involved in the war effort, that’s important.”  — Pilot Adrian Eichhorn, a former US military officer, and pilot Shinji Maeda, a native of Japan, who plan to fly in close formation over Wendover Field in Utah today to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

California, US
Stuffed toys are displayed below a balloon game at the Ventura county fair. The fair is held each August at Seaside Park and includes an agricultural show, carnival rides, food booths, and nightly concerts
Photograph: Allison Dinner/EPA

Tbilisi, Georgia
People visit the Chronicles of Georgia, a monument consisting of 16 massive columns on Keeni Hill. Designed by the Georgian-Russian artist Zurab Tsereteli, construction of the monument began in 1985. The upper sections of the columns depict kings, queens and national heroes from Georgian history
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Wendover, US
Cars are positioned in the staging area during the Southern California Timing Association’s Speed Week on the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. The event has resumed after a driver was killed when he lost control of his car during a speed-record attempt
Photograph: Brian Cahn/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock
Market Closes for Aug 6^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44193.12	+81.38
		+0.18%
S&P 500	6345.06	+45.87
		+0.73%
NASDAQ	21169.43	+252.88
		+1.21%
TSX	27920.87	+350.79
		+1.27%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40794 .86	+245.32
		+0.61%
HANG SENG	24910.63	+8.10
		+0.03%
SENSEX	80543.99	-166.26
		-0.21%
FTSE 100*	9164.31	+21.58
		+0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.406	3.380
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.757	3.708
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2257	4.2100
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8201	4.7802

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7278	0.7260
US $	1.3740	1.3774

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.6023	0.6241
US $	1.1551	0.8657

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3375.30	3380.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	64.35	65.16

Market Commentary:
I’ve never been able to predict accurately.  I don’t make money predicting accurately.  We just tend to get into good businesses and stay there. -Charlie Munger, 1924-2023.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.3%, or 350.79 to 27,920.87 in Toronto.
Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 6 of 11 sectors gained; 117 of 212 shares rose, while 93 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 21.5%.

Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain nine times. The next day, it advanced six times for an average 0.7% and declined three times for an average 1.4%
* The index advanced 27% 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 28.9% above its low on Aug. 6, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.4% 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 19.9 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.45t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.96% compared with 9.38% in the previous session and the average of 6.50% over the past month

Index Points
Information Technology | 305.6898| 10.9| 4/6
Financials | 39.0804| 0.4| 13/11
Materials | 22.1290| 0.6| 35/13
Energy | 5.7853| 0.1| 18/22
Consumer Discretionary | 3.4047| 0.4| 6/3
Consumer Staples | 2.0017| 0.2| 8/2
Utilities | -0.0342| 0.0| 7/7
Health Care | -0.4798| -0.7| 2/1
Real Estate | -0.6814| -0.1| 9/10
Communication Services | -5.3684| -0.9| 1/4
Industrials | -20.7395| -0.6| 14/14
Shopify | 320.8000| 21.5| 149.9| 39.1
RBC | 17.0100| 1.0| 5.2| 4.9
Canadian Pacific | Kansas | 11.4500| 1.7| 29.8| 1.1
Nutrien | -5.7700| -2.1| -8.3| 24.0
Constellation |Software | -9.2370| -1.4| 8.8| 6.3
Thomson Reuters | -26.1500| -10.1| 332.7| 7.2
(MT Newswires)
The Toronto Stock Exchange posted its second-straight record close Wednesday, as Rosenberg Research seems to have called it correctly in a morning note when it said stocks are “mainly detached” from weak economic data, while individual stocks like Shopify shone.
Despite weaker commodity prices, the resources heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 350.8 points, or 1.25%, to 27,920.87, even with sectors mixed.
Telecoms lost near 1.1%, but both the Battery Metals Index and Info Tech gained near 5%.
Among individual stocks, shares in e-commerce software platform Shopify (SHOP.TO, SHOP) jumped 22% to $212.82, making it the biggest company by market capitalization on the TSX, after reporting second-quarter earnings beat this morning.
National Bank kept an Outperform rating but raised its target on the stock to US$180 from US$140, on a “solid” result with particular outperformance in GMV, and also on “strong” guidance, with targeted revenue growth in the mid-to-high 20%s (versus National Bank’s forecast 20.6%, and consensus 21.5%). National said the company is “executing across the board” and “remains a top pick.”
National Bank added: “The results and outlook are consistent with our investment thesis where we see the company executing on a number of growth opportunities (enterprise, scaling take rate, POS, international, and now B2B).
Interestingly, Shopify also noted it’s not seeing any (material) impact from macro uncertainties and has limited exposure to the [U.S]. removal of de minimis (Shopify’s exposure represents near 4% of global GMV).
Meanwhile, execution across all growth levers under operating leverage is helping drive profitability and cash flow.
Bottom line, we think it’s still early days for many of those growth opportunities, which is why the name remains one of our Top Picks.”
Elsewhere, Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its Shopify price target to US$160 from $115.
Of commodities, gold was steady midafternoon on Wednesday, despite a weaker dollar, remaining close to the metal’s record high.
Gold for December delivery was down $1.30 to US$3,433.40 per ounce.
The price of the metal remains near its July 22 record high of US$3,501.80 per ounce amid strong safe haven demand as the U.S. economy slows while the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates at the Sept. 17 meeting of its policy committee.
The CME Fed watch tool shows a 89.2% probability the central bank will cut rates by 25 basis points at the meeting.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell for a fifth-straight session on Wednesday even as a report showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. inventories amid strong summer demand and U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to impose 50% secondary sanctions on India for buying Russian oil, effective Aug.27.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed down $0.81 to settle at US$64.35 per barrel, the lowest since June 9, while October Brent oil was last seen down $0.82 to US$66.82.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stock buyers waded back into the market, with a rally in most big techs driving gains.
Short-dated Treasury yields fell on bets the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut rates.
The dollar slid.
The impetus to buy the dip has rarely been this strong, with the S&P 500 up almost 1% after a brief slide this week.
The gauge has climbed an average 0.3% a day after a down session this year — on course for the second-best annual showing.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3%.
Apple Inc. jumped 5.1%, with Donald Trump set to announce the firm will commit to a fresh $100 billion US investment as it seeks to avoid punishing tariffs on iPhones.
“Markets are thriving in a risk-on fashion today as investors shift their focus from volatile trade developments and lackluster economic data to robust corporate earnings,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
“Apple’s announcement of a $100 billion domestic manufacturing investment is additionally propelling ‘animal spirits’.”
A soft $42 billion sale of 10-year Treasuries saw a muted response; with yields little changed at 4.22%.
The yield on two- year notes fell three basis points to 3.70%.
Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said policymakers will probably need to adjust rates in coming months to prevent further weakness in the labor market.
Her Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari said an economic slowdown may make a rate cut appropriate in the near term.
Meantime, Trump told European allies he’s planning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as soon as next week in another bid to bring peace between the two countries.
The US imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over its ongoing purchases of Russian energy.
Sandy Villere, portfolio manager at Villere & Co. said market participants seem to be focused on companies and earnings, and drowning out the noise coming out of Washington.
“There are a lot of narratives to keep track of in today’s investing environment, but earnings remain the main catalyst for stocks,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro.
“While pullbacks are possible — particularly due to macro-related influences and poor seasonality trends — those pullbacks will likely prove to be buying opportunities.”
Stocks remain buoyant as betting against the market momentum “feels almost irrational,” according to a macro trader at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“The key point is that the market can’t look far enough. This is why it will ignore the recession risk,” Paolo Schiavone wrote.
Still, after the blistering rally in American equities, the Bloomberg Intelligence Market Pulse Index pushed to a “manic” reading last month, a sign that investor exuberance may be running too hot.
The measure combines six metrics like market breadth, volatility and leverage to deliver a reading on investor sentiment.
When it gets into overheated territory, returns tend to weaken in the following three months.
“While trade uncertainty and elevated valuations could be a modest headwind for equities in the near term, investors can consider ways to manage volatility while positioning for longer- term gains,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Those who are already allocated to equities in line with their strategic benchmarks should consider implementing short- term hedges, and those under allocated should prepare to add exposure on potential market dips, he noted.

Corporate Highlights:
* DoorDash Inc., the largest food delivery service in the US, issued an outlook for orders in the third quarter that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
* Airbnb Inc. issued a better-than-expected outlook for the third quarter as it saw encouraging summer travel demand, but warned that growth rates may not keep up later this year due to tough year-ago comparisons.
* Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su said the chipmaker has seen positive signs in demand for all its products and is making progress on getting US government approval to return to the China market.
* Super Micro Computer Inc. slumped after lowering its fiscal- year revenue forecast, raising questions about sales and pricing pressures around powerful AI servers.
* McDonald’s Corp. sales picked up in the latest quarter, suggesting that pop culture-focused collaborations and budget meals are helping to offset diners’ economic anxiety.
* Walt Disney Co. disappointed Wall Street with a tepid full- year profit forecast, weighed down by its struggling movie and TV businesses.
* General Motors Co. has signed a deal with Texas-based Noveon Magnetics Inc. to secure rare-earth magnets for its full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, marking the third domestic supply contract the automaker has signed related to the critical trade dominated by China.
* Rivian Automotive Inc., an electric-vehicle maker, backed away from a key financial goal and warned of mounting losses, highlighting the pressure it’s facing from President Donald Trump’s tariffs and changes to US environmental rules.
* Uber Technologies Inc.’s rideshare division missed Wall Street estimates, disappointing investors who were looking for signs of more robust demand in its signature business.
* Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is doubling down on its long-haul expansion with the first purchase of Boeing Co. widebody aircraft in a dozen years, while it struggles closer to home with its HK Express unit suffering from a sharp drop in regional demand.
* Snap Inc., the owner of the Snapchat photo-sharing app, acknowledged a slowdown in advertising revenue growth, due in part to a technical issue with its ad-buying tools earlier this year.
* Novo Nordisk A/S’s sales showed the weakest growth in four years as the Danish drugmaker loses ground to Eli Lilly & Co. in the crucial US market for obesity medicines, underscoring the slowdown that prompted last week’s profit warning.
* Six Flags Entertainment Corp. tumbled after poor weather conditions limited attendance, leading the theme-park operator to slash its full year outlook.
* Mosaic Co., the world’s leading producer of two key crop fertilizers, sank as US tariffs led to fewer and costlier second-quarter phosphate sales.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.8%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.9%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 0.2%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.2%
* Apple rose 5.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.7% to $1.1657
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3358
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 147.18 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $115,291.2
* Ether rose 3% to $3,684.07
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.22%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.53%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 3.70%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.81%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7% to $64.07 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,371.57 an ounce

–With assistance from Lu Wang.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Begin at once to live and count each separate day as a separate life. -Seneca, c. 4 BCE-65 CE.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 5, 1914: The world’s first electric traffic light is installed in Cleveland, Ohio, based on James Hoge’s design patented later in 1918.
August 5, 1963: The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. Go to article.

The mystery of Keanu Reeves’ missing watches
Six luxury timepieces were stolen from the “John Wick” actor in 2023. They’ve just been found — in Chile.

📸 Behind the scenes: Legendary music photographer Jim Marshall started taking pictures of the Grateful Dead in 1966. The resulting images are intimate and honest, reflecting the trust he built over the years. Take a look.

Michael J. Fox to appear on ‘Shrinking’
Harrison Ford, whose character on the Apple TV+ show also has Parkinson’s disease, described Fox’s presence on the set as “essential.”

4,000: That’s the age of a handprint that researchers discovered on a clay model used for offerings in an Ancient Egyptian tomb. 

Dormant volcano erupts in Russia for first time in around 500 years, days after magnitude 8.8 megaquake
Krasheninnikov volcano has erupted on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. This is the second volcano to erupt in the region following the magnitude 8.8 megaquake on July 30. Read More.

Cosmic rays could help support alien life on worlds outside the ‘Goldilocks zone’
A new study suggests that cosmic radiation could potentially provide the energy to kick-start extraterrestrial life deep beneath the surface of icy worlds like Mars, Europa and Enceladus.  Read More.

Watch a pod of orcas pretending to drown one of their own in macabre training session
Footage from the BBC’s new nature series “Parenthood” shows orcas practicing an important blue whale-hunting technique on each other. Read More.

No-sugar sweetener erythritol may pose risk to cells in the brain, study finds — here’s what to know
A popular zero-calorie sweetener could injure cells in the brain’s blood vessels, a lab study finds. Here’s what we know so far. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frankfurt, Germany
A Mercedes Unimog van sits beneath overgrown vegetation on a parking spot in Bad Vilbel
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Staritsa, Russia
A circus performer prepares for Karandash-Fest, a street festival in western Russia
Photograph: Pavel Bednyakov/AP

Whitby, UK
Miniature steam engines at a traction engine rally on the North Yorkshire coast
Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Market Closes for Aug 5^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	44111.74	-61.90
		-0.14%
S&P 500	6299.19	-30.75
		-0.49%
NASDAQ	20916.55	-137.03
		-0.65%
TSX	27570.08	+549.65
		+2.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40549.54	+258.84
		+0.64%
HANG SENG	24902.53	+169.08
		+0.68%
SENSEX	80710.25	-308.47
		-0.38%
FTSE 100*	9142.73	+14.43
		+0.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.380	N/A
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.708	N/A
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2100	4.2159
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.7802	4.8221

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7260	0.7253
US $	1.3774	1.3787

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5946	0.6271
US $	1.1576	0.8638

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3380.05	3298.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	65.16	67.33

Market Commentary:
The goal is to turn data into information, and information, and information into insight. -Carleton S. Fiorina, “Carly”, b. 1954.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 2% at 27,570.08 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 2.5% on April 11 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.9%.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 179 of 212 shares rose, while 32 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 7.1%.
Kinross Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 12.0%.

Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain two times. The next day, it declined 3% once and advanced 1.2% once
* The index advanced 24% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0% below its 52-week high on July 30, 2025 and 27.3% above its low on Aug. 6, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6% in the past 5 days and rose 2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.6 on a trailing basis and 17.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.37t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.38% compared with 7.40% in the previous session and the average of 6.34% over the past month

Index Points
Materials | 203.8890| 5.6| 47/1
Information Technology | 118.3242| 4.4| 10/0
Financials | 103.5224| 1.2| 24/1
Energy | 43.9660| 1.0| 26/14
Industrials | 41.8620| 1.2| 22/7
Consumer Staples | 14.0553| 1.4| 9/1
Consumer Discretionary | 11.6011| 1.3| 9/0
Real Estate | 5.5387| 1.1| 17/1
Utilities | 3.5303| 0.3| 9/5
Health Care | 1.6813| 2.7| 3/0
Communication Services | 1.6739| 0.3| 3/2
Shopify | 98.2100| 7.1| 13.8| 14.5
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 44.6200| 7.3| 78.2| 64.9
RBC | 25.5200| 1.5| -11.9| 3.9
TerraVest Capital | -1.1340| -6.5| 275.2| 39.7
Keyera | -1.2980| -1.9| 40.7| -2.5
Thomson Reuters | -2.2870| -0.9| -3.3| 19.2
(MT Newswires):
Canadian investors on Tuesday returned refreshed after a holiday long weekend by pushing the Toronto Stock Exchange up to a fresh record close, buoyed by data showing most Canadian exports to the United States remained duty free in June, even as National Bank warned the full impact of this year’s trade war is still to be seen.
Despite mixed commodity prices, the resources heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day up 549.65 points, or 2%, to 27,570.88, ending a three-day losing streak late last week that came after the index closed at a prior record 27,539.88 on July 29.
Most sectors were higher, led by Info Tech up 3% and then Health Care and Base Metals, both up 2.7%.
The Battery Metals Index was down near 0.7%.
As with most days of late, trade related comments and data were the main focus for investors.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had been keeping a pretty low profile since Aug. 1 when the Trump administration implemented a 35% tariff on Canadian goods entering the United States not already covered under the existing North American free trade agreement.
But Carney was shown on Canada’s CBC News on Tuesday afternoon taking questions in British Columbia on the federal government’s response to wildfires in that province and elsewhere, after detailing support for the Canadian softwood lumber industry.
During a press conference the Prime Minister said he has not spoken to U.S. President Trump in recent days, before adding they would speak when it makes sense to do so.
Carney was also asked would Canada impose retaliatory measures beyond those already in place and he noted 85% of trade with the U.S. right now is still tariff free.
The Prime Minister also announced federal government support for the Canadian softwood lumber industry with $700 million in loan guarantees and $500 million to help it diversify markets after the United States last month raised anti-dumping duties on imports of Canadian softwood.
In related data news, RBC noted Canada’s trade deficit widened to $5.9 billion in June from a $5.5 billion shortfall in May, but reportedly entirely due to a large “one-time high value” equipment imports from the United States to Newfoundland’s offshore oil production sector.
RBC said excluding a $2.1 billion jump in the equipment import component that contained those products, imports of goods would have declined by another 1.8% in June, and the trade deficit would have narrowed to $3.8 billion overall.
According to RBC, that large equipment purchase should not impact overall GDP estimates, saying the import increase will mechanically subtract from GDP, but should be offset by higher business equipment spending.
For RBC, the bottom line is that a “plunge” in Q2 Canadian export volumes is on track to substantially subtract from Canadian GDP in Q2 following a pre-tariff surge in Q1 when U.S. importers rushed to front-run tariffs.
But, the bank said, there was further “encouraging” evidence in June that an exemption for trade compliant with the USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement is backstopping duty free access to the U.S. market for most Canadian exports.
RBC noted sector specific tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada of products like steel and aluminum and the non-U.S. content of finished motor vehicles are raising costs significantly for U.S. buyers, but the U.S.
Census Bureau reported 92% of Canadian exports to the U.S. crossed the border duty free in June, up slightly from 91% in May and 89% in April.
The bank also noted the average effective U.S. tariff rate on imports from Canada remained one of the lowest among U.S. trading partners at 2.4%, well-below the 8.9% average U.S. rate on all imports in June.
That effective tariff rate on imports from Canada will rise with an increase in the rate on products not compliant with the existing trade agreement between the two countries to 35% in August, up from 25% in June, but that increase applies to a relatively small share, RBC estimates near 6%, of exports to the United States that are not compliant.
“We,” RBC said, “continue to expect that current rules, if maintained as currently in place, would leave Canada with the lowest tariff rate of any major U.S. trade partner — putting Canadian exporters in a stronger relative position to compete for U.S. import market share than other countries.
The concern remains, though, that U.S. tariff hikes have been so large, and uncertainty so high surrounding their announcements, that U.S. economic growth will slow with negative implications for close U.S. trade partners like Canada.”
It added: “The total U.S. effective tariff rate on imports from all countries continued to rise in June, hitting its highest level since the 1940s, and there is early evidence that U.S. labour markets are softening as a result, particularly in the U.S. industrial sector where ties with the Canadian economy are extremely close.”
Meanwhile, Ethan Currie at National Bank, in noting the U.S. merchandise deficit continued to shrink in June, primarily the result of falling imports due to both earlier front-loading and higher costs in the form of tariffs.
With adjusted ‘reciprocal’ levies set to take hold starting Thursday, it’s no wonder two-way trade with the tariff capital of the world is dipping, he added.
Currie said while U.S.-assigned tariff rates have come down from their threatened April levels, they are still “massively inflated” relative to last year.
Indeed, he noted, the average effective tariff rate (AETR) resides at levels not seen since WWII.
“While we await ‘hard’ data via customs revenues and trade balances to settle on the 2025 figure, we estimate that the U.S. AETR is above 15% according to current policy.
This number remains fluid as trade behaviour adjusts and presumably, countries with more favourable tariffs may see relatively more U.S. business,” Currie added.
Outside of reciprocal levies, and court rulings which could challenge the imposition of such under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), sectoral tariffs remain very much in focus.
Fentanyl-related levies in Canada, Mexico, and China make trade deals for these partners a “unique case”, Currie noted.
“Thanks to the USMCA,” Currie said, “Canada’s exposure remains better than most, and the ‘headline’ 35% is not representative of the overall tariffs being paid.”
“Still,” he added, “we see punitive broad-based tariffs, if sustained, and associated uncertainty/volatility weighing on long-run domestic and global growth.
Clearly, this administration is more protectionist than Trump’s first time in office, which is clear when comparing customs duties. It’s also consistent with a stickier term premium.
However, it might not be so obvious when aligning equity and Greenback performance.
The full impact of this year’s trade war is still to be seen, in our view.”
Of commodities, gold prices rose on Tuesday as the dollar gave up early gains after the United States reported its trade deficit fell to a near two-year low in June as imports slowed.
Gold for December delivery was last seen up $7.50 to US$3,433.30 per ounce.
But West Texas Intermediate oil closed lower for a fourth day as traders focus on rising supply and weaker demand as growth slows.
WTI crude oil for September delivery closed down $1.13 to settle at US$65.16 per barrel, while October Brent oil was last seen down $1.06 to US$67.70.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks wiped out gains after data showed weakening US services amid sticky price pressures, raising concern about the Federal Reserve’s policy challenges.
Short-dated Treasuries underperformed.
Oil sank as Russia was said to mull an air-truce with Ukraine.
Following a rally that put S&P 500 on the brink of all-time highs, the equity benchmark lost steam.
A closely watched gauge of chipmakers slid more than 1%.
In late hours, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gave a bullish revenue outlook.
A soft $58 billion sale of three-year notes kicked off a trio of US auctions this week.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.20%, while those on two-year notes rose four basis points to 3.72%“We expect further choppy trading to persist in the later stages of summer, especially as the path of interest-rate policy remains unknown and highly sensitive to incoming economic data,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research.
The US services sector stagnated as firms — faced with tepid demand and rising costs — reduced headcount.
Data out last week showed weaker-than-expected jobs data while inflation-adjusted consumer spending barely rose.
“It is difficult to see how price pressures will stick if employment is cooling,” said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research.
“Demand is not going to be strong enough for households to absorb the price increase. This is why an insurance cut makes sense.”
President Donald Trump told CNBC that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he did not want to be nominated to replace Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair.
Trump also said that US tariffs on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports would be announced “within the next week or so.”
The Institute for Supply Management’s index of services declined last month to 50.1, below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The employment index contracted. The group’s measure of prices paid for materials and services climbed to the highest since October 2022.
To Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets, the inflation component was more troubling.
Nonetheless, the payrolls report has still paved the way for a September rate cut, he noted.
“The ISM services survey highlights the challenges for the Fed in the coming months, with the activity and employment indicators weakening even as the prices paid index rose to a new cyclical high,” said Alexandra Brown at Capital Economics.
The latest labor data is weak enough for the Fed to justify cutting interest rates, said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Her firm’s base case remains that the US central bank will resume rate cuts at the September meeting, with a total of 100 basis points of easing by early 2026.
​​​​​​​
‘Sticky Inflation Signs’
“Traders are continuing to speculate on the time of the Fed’s next rate cuts with sticky inflation signs weighed against weakening economic indicators,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
He also noted the S&P 500 outlook could start to deteriorate in the near-term amid warnings over sky-high valuations against a backdrop of weakening economy.
“Should worries about overstretched valuations start to weigh on a few high-flying tech names, most of which have been supported by their latest earnings results, then the major indices could start to show bearish signs,” he said.
Fast-money investors will likely reach full exposure to US equities by September, which could prompt them to sell stocks as they become vulnerable to downside market shocks, according to Scott Rubner of Citadel Securities.
At Jefferies, Andrew Greenebaum says the Fed could be poised to trigger a stock-market regime change that sees smaller companies perform better than mega-cap tech.
Data going back to 1990 show that the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index outperformed the traditional market-cap weighted version of the benchmark when the Fed is reducing rates.
Meantime, HSBC strategists boosted their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,400 points from 5,600, citing robust corporate earnings and easing policy uncertainty.
“The AI trade is powering the tech/AI cohort higher, while reduced policy uncertainty (namely tariffs) is fueling the ‘rest’ of the market,” the team led by Nicole Inui wrote.
“We have more confidence in the sustainability of the AI trade than further easing on policy uncertainty.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Two Chinese nationals were arrested this week on charges they sent tens of millions of dollars’ worth of advanced AI chips made by Nvidia Corp. to China in violation of US export restrictions, according to authorities.
* Tesla Inc. continues to post steep sales declines in Europe, where the Elon Musk-led automaker is ceding significant share to China’s BYD Co.
* Amazon.com Inc. plans to make OpenAI’s new open artificial intelligence models available to customers, the first time the cloud computing giant has offered products from the leading AI startup.
* President Donald Trump accused two of the nation’s largest banks of rejecting his business, as his administration was preparing an executive order threatening financial institutions who refused to work with certain customers on ideological grounds.
** Trump told CNBC he had been “informed by my people” that JPMorgan Chase & Co. had asked him to close accounts he held for decades within 20 days, and that Bank of America Corp. declined his attempt to deposit more than $1 billion with their company.
* Rivian Automotive Inc. forecast a larger adjusted loss this year than the electric vehicle maker expected previously, citing recent changes to stringent fuel economy rules in the US that threaten a key source of revenue.
* Amgen Inc. boosted its 2025 guidance after quarterly results beat Wall Street’s estimates on the back of strong sales from older medicines such as the cholesterol-lowering drug Repatha.
* The Trump’s administration proposed a rule to allow more commercial drones to fly beyond an operator’s visual line of sight, a potential boon for companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Wing unit and Walmart Inc. pushing to deliver packages by autonomous aircraft.
* Caterpillar Inc. has given investors annual guidance for the first time on how much tariffs will impact the maker of iconic yellow diggers and bulldozers this year, as the Trump administration’s trade war deepens.
* Pfizer Inc. raised its profit forecast for the year, with the drugmaker’s ongoing cost cuts helping to make up for a lack of expected sales growth.
* Marriott International Inc. reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations as the company’s global footprint made up for softening US demand.
* Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s experimental pain drug failed to provide post-surgery benefits and US regulators said they didn’t see a path forward for broad use of its pill in treating a chronic pain condition.
* Taiwan prosecutors arrested six people suspected of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., opening an investigation into a potential breach of national security involving a global tech industry linchpin.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.6%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 1.1%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1573
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3296
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 147.61 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1% to $113,642.14
* Ether fell 3.5% to $3,571.97
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.20%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.62%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.52%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.72%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.77%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7% to $65.14 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,379.14 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Looking behind I am filled with gratitude; looking forward I am filled with vision.
looking upwards I am filled with strength; looking within I discover peace.
                            Quero Apache prayer

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

Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Friday.
Llamas: first harvest, Wicca.
August 1, 1834: Slavery is abolished across the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into  force, freeing over 800,000 enslaved people.
August 1, 1789: US Customs established.
August 1, 1981: The music video channel MTV made its debut. Go to article.
August 1, 1990: World Wide Web established.

Herman Melville, writer, b. 1819.
Yves St. Laurent, designer, b. 1936.
Jerry Garcia, guitarist/vocalist, b. 1942.

Archaeologists discover 1,800-year-old Roman watchtower built to protect the empire during Marcus Aurelius’ reign
Archaeologists are excavating a Roman-era watchtower in Croatia that was “built in a strategic location” on the banks of the Danube River. Read More.

2,300-year-old arm tats on mummified woman reveal new insights about tattooing technique in ancient Siberia
A new analysis used near-infrared photography to shed light on the methods and tools for creating tattoos in the Early Iron Age Pazyryk culture. Read More.

Tomatoes randomly mated with another plant 9 million years ago. The result? Potatoes.
Researchers say they have finally uncovered the mysterious origins of one of our favorite carbs: the humble potato. Read More.

Lightning on Earth is sparked by a powerful chain reaction from outer space, simulations show
A new model may have finally solved where storm clouds get their missing energy. Read More.

Archaeologists race against time to explore shipwreck
Various threats could cause the remains of the English warship Northumberland to become unstable.

Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen to receive special award at Emmys
The Hollywood couple will be honored for something other than their top-notch acting talents.

Want a perfect picture of the Dolomites for Instagram?
Prepare to pay for the right to take the shot.

IHOP pines for TikTok’s attention
The restaurant has created its most expensive stack of pancakes to woo fans who enjoy eating luxurious chocolate — and being on trend.

‘Houston, we have a problem.’ 
Thirty years after its original release, the blockbuster film “Apollo 13” is returning to movie theaters in a big way.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Cyclists speed around cows down the Cormet de Roseland pass during the 19th stage of the Tour de France which started in Albertville and finished in La Plagne.
Photograph: Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP
Tembisa, South Africa
Young ballet students Philasande Ngcobo and Yamihle Gwababa pose for a photograph outside the Mballet dance academy in Tembisa. The academy was created not just to teach ballet but to open doors in a community where resources are few and dreams often feel out of reach.
Photograph: Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images

A butterfly rests on a bramble leaf in Dunsden, Oxfordshire, UK. Some spotters have seen an increase in butterflies this year
Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock
Market Closes for Aug 1^st, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	43588.58	-542.40
		-1.23%
S&P 500	6238.01	-101.38
		-1.60%
NASDAQ	20650.13	-472.32
		-2.24%
TSX	27020.43	-239.35
		-0.88%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40799.60	-270.22
		-0.66%
HANG SENG	24507.81	-265.52
		-1.07%
SENSEX	80599.91	-585.67
		-0.72%
FTSE 100*	9068.58	-64.23
		-0.70%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.382	3.458
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.706	3.759
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2159	4.3740
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.8221	4.9000

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7253	0.7217
US $	1.3787	1.3856

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5980	0.6257
US $	1.1590	0.8628

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3298.85	3304.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	67.33	69.26

Market Commentary:
I am wrong nine out of ten times but it is what I do in consequence of being right that has made my fortune. -George Soros, b. 1930.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.9%, or 239.35 to 27,020.43 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 3% on April 10.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4%.
Brookfield Renewable Partners LP had the largest drop, falling 6.7%.
Today, 145 of 212 shares fell, while 64 rose; all sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.

Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1.7%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended April 4
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2% below its 52-week high on July 30, 2025 and 24.8% above its low on Aug. 6, 2024
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.3 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.41t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.40% compared with 6.80% in the previous session and the average of 6.17% over the past month

Index Points
Financials | -83.8840| -0.9| 5/20
Information Technology | -72.4121| -2.6| 0/10
Energy | -34.8121| -0.8| 6/34
Industrials | -23.0177| -0.7| 6/22
Consumer Staples | -14.2224| -1.4| 1/9
Communication Services | -6.2862| -1.0| 3/2
Real Estate | -2.0290| -0.4| 5/12
Utilities | -1.4099| -0.1| 7/7
Health Care | -0.6208| -1.0| 1/2
Consumer Discretionary | -0.4375| 0.0| 4/5
Materials | -0.2312| 0.0| 26/22
Shopify | -48.8900| -3.4| 39.0| 7.0
Brookfield Corp | -27.0800| -2.9| 43.9| 9.1
Canadian Natural Resources | -16.7000| -2.6| -52.0| -3.7
TC Energy | 4.3620| 0.9| -67.7| -0.3
MDA Space | 5.4440| 18.4| 158.0| 55.5
Enbridge | 14.9400| 1.6| 15.8| 4.5
(MT Newswires):
The Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday saw its losses for the last three sessions since Tuesday’s record close rise to near 500 points, as an “arbitrary” deadline for a trade agreement between Canada and the United States passed, leading to President Donald Trump applying a 35% tariff to many Canadian goods.
The S&P/TSX Composite index closed 239.35 points to 27,020.43, down from the Tuesday record close of 27,539.88.
Most sectors were in the red, led by Info Tech down near 2.3%.
The Battery Metals Index was one of the few gainers, up 0.3%.
On sectors, Rosenberg Research published a note titled ‘Our Big Picture Investment Themes’ which it said, “a screen of global equity markets points to increasing ex. U.S. exposure”.
It remains Underweight on the Energy sector but sees Canadian Utilities as “an attractive single-sector diversification strategy”.
Rosenberg Research said precious metals are “the pick” of the commodity space, noting gold “has tailwinds which should sustain the rally” and gold mining stocks “have a bright future”.
The research added precious metals like platinum, palladium, and rhodium “each face a complex supply picture, so we suggest different time horizons”, while silver is “set to post solid gains when it mean-reverts towards its typical relationship with gold”. According to Rosenberg Research, other gold-exposed financial assets are also “poised for a run”, while supply-demand imbalances in non-precious metals make it “bullish” on uranium, copper, graphite, lithium, and aluminum.
On trade, Canada has refused to roll over and accept whatever deal the Trump Administration was willing to offer it on trade ahead of a penciled in deadline of today.
CBC News on Friday afternoon carried an interview with Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister Responsible for Canada-U.S.
Trade, during which he said the Canadian federal government is “not going to accept any deal because of an arbitrary timeline” the Americans set.
He added his government continues to look for the best deal for Canada: “If yesterday afternoon that deal wasn’t clearly on the table, then we will continue to talk with the Americans.”
LeBlanc noted he has agreed to talk again with Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, over a phone next week.
The Canadian Press is reporting business groups are anxiously watching trade negotiations and don’t want the country to rush into a deal, but say the uncertainty is weighing on their members.
The report noted groups representing Canada’s small businesses, steel producers and more spent Friday hammering a unified message: “no deal is better than a bad deal”.
“A little more time now can deliver lasting benefits for an integrated North American economy – and that’s well worth the wait,” said Candace Laing, chief executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
In a bigger picture, but somewhat related note, Derek Holt, Head of Capital Markets Economics at Scotiabank, published ‘Good Things May Come from Bad Payrolls’ in which he noted the U.S. job market is “suddenly weaker than previously thought” after today’s nonfarm payrolls.
Holt in the summary noted negative revisions for May and June were the biggest since the pandemic first struck.
“Trump administration policies are likely at fault,” he said, before adding later in his note: “So what really caused the revisions to seasonally unadjusted payrolls in May and June? That’s unclear.
But it’s possible that amid the turmoil that has employers scrambling to deal with the effects of rapid change to trade, immigration, fiscal and other policies, that data quality is being further impaired by low response rates.”
Holt noted markets assumed the Fed will rapidly shift toward easing interest rates on the back of numbers like these, that showed a negative revision to job growth in May and June that totaled 258,000 positions. But he said “the bigger policy pivot may have to be made by the Trump administration”.
Perhaps, Holt said, some good may come of it. “To date,” he added, “markets and fundamentals have not shown enough of an impact of soaring policy uncertainty.
That may be changing.
If so, then along with the ongoing court challenge against Trump’s tariffs, this may be the best hope to restore some sense of reason within the US administration in terms of the toxic effects of its trade policies on the world and US economies.
All along, the best hope for pushing back against US tariffs as they went globally has been to exact a toll on the US itself.”
Holt’s comments came before President Trump directed his team to “immediately” fire Dr.
Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whom he accused of manipulating the monthly jobs reports for “political purposes”.
Of commodities today, gold was sharply higher late afternoon on Friday as the dollar and yields plunged after the U.S. reported new hiring rose less than expected in July, while estimates for job growth in May and June were cut by a quarter-million positions as the country’s economy slows under President’s Donald Trump’s economic policies.
Gold for December delivery was last seen up $62.20 to US$3,410.80 per ounce.
But West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed lower as investors shed risk assets after fresh U.S. tariffs and a weak U.S. jobs report raised worries over slowing global growth.
WTI crude oil closed down $1.93 to settle at US$67.33 per barrel, while October Brent oil was down $2.05 to US$69.65.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street saw a broad flight from risk assets, with stocks sinking amid mounting signs of job-market weakness, President Donald Trump’s latest volley of tariffs and geopolitical worries.
Short-term Treasury yields plunged the most since 2023 on bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates.
The S&P 500 sank 1.6%, the most since May.
An uninspiring outlook from Amazon.com Inc. spurred a rout in mega caps.
A closely watched volatility gauge – the VIX – topped 20.
Two-year yields tumbled 28 basis points to 3.68%.
The dollar snapped a six-day advance.
Gold climbed as Trump said the US is moving two nuclear submarines to respond to “provocative” statements from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Job growth cooled sharply, and the unemployment rate rose, with payrolls increasing 73,000 in July after the prior two months were revised down by nearly 260,000.
In the last three months, employment growth has averaged a paltry 35,000.
Money markets fully priced in two rate cuts in 2025, with a 90% chance of a reduction in September.
“What had looked like a Teflon labor market showed some scratches this morning,” said Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“A Fed that still appeared hesitant to lower rates may see a clearer path to a September cut, especially if data over the next month confirms the trend.”
The pullback in stocks marked a sharp reversal for markets that had raced to record highs on the back of resilient economic growth, signs of cooling inflation, and a frenzy for AI-linked shares.
With valuations elevated, traders are now confronting a harsher backdrop amid renewed debate over how quickly the Fed might be forced to cut rates.
“The debate now is whether the White House was right, and the Fed was too late,” said Scott Helfstein at Global X.
“The Fed was probably right to wait, but job growth and the economy is slowing from a blistering rate.”
Trump told officials to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hours after a report showed US job growth cooled sharply.
“The US public statistics represent the gold standard,” said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research.
“Calling them into question because they tell you something you don’t like undercuts market confidence.”
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, speaking on Bloomberg Television after the numbers came out, said the labor market still looked healthy — though it was a “disappointing report to be sure.”
Ahead of the data, Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman issued statements explaining why they dissented Wednesday from the decision to hold rates steady, expressing concerns that hesitance to cut rates could risk unnecessary damage to the labor market.
Trump said Fed Chair Jerome Powell should be put “out to pasture” and called on the central bank’s board to “assume control” if rates were not lowered.
Fed Governor Adriana Kugler will step down from her position on the central bank’s board, handing Trump a sooner- than-anticipated opportunity to install a new policymaker who aligns with his vision for rates.
To Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the jobs miss directly challenges the Fed’s hawkish posture from this week’s meeting.
“Just two days after the conclusion of this month’s Fed meeting, suddenly the dual mandate is back on the table,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
“The Fed will again need to balance a slowing job market with inflation which isn’t slowing fast enough.”
Today’s report provides the evidence the Fed needs to make a September rate adjustment, so the only question is how large that will be, according to Rick Rieder at BlackRock.
“September is a lock for a rate cut — and it might even be a 50-basis point move to make up the lost time,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group.
At eToro, Bret Kenwell says the most-obvious question is: How would the Fed handle a slowdown in the labor market alongside a rise in inflation?
“While neither is at an extreme right now, inflation is moving higher and the labor market is losing steam,” he said.
“When push comes to shove, the Fed would likely step in by easing financial conditions if the labor market truly begins to deteriorate, but it may not be as fast or as accommodating if inflation remains stubbornly high.”
To Marvin Loh at State Street Global Markets, the latest jobs data signal what a tough balancing act the Fed has given that wages are still growing at a decent clip and tariffs are still a major uncertainty.
Four months after Trump shocked the world by unveiling a placard full of tariff rates, his revisions Thursday left investors scrambling to grasp the full impacts of those levies.
At an average of 15%, the world is still facing some of the steepest US tariffs since the 1930s, roughly six times higher than they were a year ago.
“Our base case remains that the US effective tariff rate should settle at around 15% by the end of the year, and the economic impact is likely to prove manageable,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“Still, tariffs are a headwind for global trade and growth, and they have started to contribute to a rise in inflation.”
With markets already pricing in much of the good news on the trade front, she expects stock volatility to pick up in the near term.

Corporate Highlights:
* Amazon.com Inc. projected weaker-than-expected operating income and trailing the sales growth of its cloud rivals, leaving investors searching for signs that the company’s huge investments in artificial intelligence are paying off.
* Apple Inc. reported its fastest quarterly revenue growth in more than three years, easily topping Wall Street estimates, after demand picked up for the iPhone and products in China.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. posted better-than- expected results after record oil production cushioned the impact of lower crude prices.
* Eli Lilly & Co. gained after a report that Medicaid and some Medicare drug plans will experiment with covering expensive weight-loss drugs, a sign the Trump administration is reconsidering its position against expanding coverage of these treatments.
* Moderna Inc.’s cost-cutting efforts failed to assuage investors who are worried about the decline of its Covid vaccine business.
* Kleenex-owner Kimberly-Clark Corp. is making inroads with cost-conscious US consumers, as lower-priced household goods items and surging volume helped it beat second-quarter earnings expectations.
* Reddit Inc. reported its most-profitable quarter to date and projected third-quarter sales that far surpassed analyst expectations, signaling the strength of its growing advertising business.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 3.1%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.9%
* The euro rose 1.4% to $1.1571
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3262
* The Japanese yen rose 2.2% to 147.43 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.8% to $113,237.39
* Ether fell 5.8% to $3,516.39
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 16 basis points to 4.22%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.68%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.53%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.8% to $67.31 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 2.1% to $3,357.53 an ounce

–With assistance from Denitsa Tsekova, Vildana Hajric, Lu Wang and Julien Ponthus.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound. –Herman Melville, 1819-1891.

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