Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carolann is away from the office. I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

December 30, 1813 The British burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812. Go to article

December 30, 1853 Gadsden Purchase completed- The United States finalizes the Gadsden Purchase, acquiring territory from Mexico (present-day southern Arizona & New Mexico). CheckDateTime

December 30, 1916 Assassination of Grigori Rasputin-Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, seen as wielding undue influence over the imperial family, is murdered by nobles at the Moika Palace in St. Petersburg. CheckDateTime

Patti Smith-American singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist, known as the punk poet laureate. b. 1946

Laila Ali-American professional boxer, undefeated world champion and daughter of Muhammad Ali. b. 1977

LeBron James-American NBA superstar, multiple-time champion and one of the greatest basketball players of all time. b. 1984

Scientists are developing a ‘self-driving’ device that helps patients recover from heart attacks

Live Science spoke with Dr. Joe Alexander of NTT Research about "digital twins" and the development of an autonomous device for acute cardiac care.

This new DNA storage system can fit 10 billion songs in a liter of liquid but challenges remain for the unusual storage format

The new storage system could hold family photos, cultural artifacts and the master versions of digital artworks, movies, manuscripts and music for thousands of years, scientists say.

Tractor beams inspired by sci-fi are real, and could solve the looming space junk problem

Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.

10 things we learned about Neanderthals in 2025

Findings about our extinct relatives, the Neanderthals, continue to surprise us, especially those from 2025.

‘Artificial intelligence’ myths have existed for centuries from the ancient Greeks to a popes chatbot

‘Artificial intelligence’ myths have existed for centuries from the ancient Greeks to a pope’s chatbot

George and Amal Clooney granted French citizenship after concerns of raising children in Hollywood
Actor George Clooney and his family have been granted French citizenship, official government documents show, after he has previously voiced concern about raising his children amid the glitz of Hollywood.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

There is a crack in everything:
capturing the dark of winter in picturesPhotographer: Sarah Lee

Oberstdorf, Germany
A train crosses a wintry landscape
Photograph: Anna Szilayi/EPA

Beijing, China
An exhibition representing the Summer Palace at a shopping mall welcomes the Year of the Horse, which begins on 17 February 2026, according to the Chinese zodiac
Photograph: Andy Wong/AP
Market Closes for December 30th, 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 31,866.26 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.5%.
Energy Fuels Inc/Canada had the largest drop, falling 5.7%.
Today, 105 of 218 shares fell, while 109 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 29%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 6.1%
* This month, the index rose 1.5%
* The index advanced 29% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7% below its 52-week high on Dec. 22, 2025 and 43.4% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and rose 1.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.7 on a trailing basis and 20.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.08t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.66% compared with 11.07% in the previous session and the average of 13.44% over the past month
Index Points
Information Technology | -61.0789| -1.9| 0/10
Financials | -25.4476| -0.2| 7/17
Industrials | -23.6609| -0.7| 1/28
Health Care | -0.6864| -0.8| 0/4
Consumer Discretionary | -0.6527| -0.1| 3/5
Utilities | -0.4434| 0.0| 5/9
Real Estate | 0.0821| 0.0| 10/7
Consumer Staples | 2.6891| 0.3| 9/1
Communication Services | 4.2752| 0.7| 5/0
Energy | 32.5901| 0.7| 26/11
Materials | 42.0018| 0.7| 43/13
Shopify | -48.1900| -2.5| 0.5| 46.6
Brookfield Corp | -9.9590| -1.0| -18.8| 15.1
Cameco | -6.1760| -1.6| -1.3| 69.3
Enbridge | 6.8580| 0.7| -47.1| 7.8
Suncor | 8.8970| 1.8| -23.7| 18.8
Canadian Natural | Resources | 14.2600| 2.2| -53.8| 4.7
Aya Gold & Silver| 5.5| 0.9670| -5.6| 88.5
ERO Copper | 4.2| 1.1440| 57.8| 102.8
Silvercorp Metals| 3.4| 0.5960| -22.2| 171.8
Energy Fuels | -5.7| -1.9560| 25.4| 163.3
Bitfarms/Canada | -3.3| -0.3980| -45.7| 53.5
Aecon Group | -2.8| -0.3980| 8.3| 14.7
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down Tuesday for the third session in a row, since before the Christmas holiday break, as the release of FOMC Minutes from the December 9-10 meeting spooked investors across North America after showing there is a high level of uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates headed in to 2026.
Today, the resources heavy TSX closed down 30.33 or 0.1% at 31,866.26.
It had been above the 32,000 level in early afternoon trade — before the Fed update — on improved precious metals prices.
Even at 2.30pm ET, the TSX looked like it was set to make gains, even if it wasn’t to test the record close of 32,058.73 hit Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
According to Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet, the TSX going into today’s trade was month to date up 1.64%, and year to date up 7,168.65 points or 28.99%.
The turning point of Tuesday’s session came with the Minutes from the final Fed meeting of 2025.
Which, BMO Economics said, suggested officials remain divided on the path forward.
"There’s a high degree of uncertainty heading into next year, with key policymaker changes, including a new Chair. We continue to expect three 25-bp rate cuts through 2026," it added.
Most sectors ended lower, but only Info Technology lost more than 1%, down 1.4%.
Also, only one sector gained more than 1%, Energy up near 1.4%.
Base Metals was up about 0.6%.
Gains in those two sectors likely reflected the fact that silver was recouping losses after its biggest one day drop in more than five years, as supply shortages kept the metal on track for a 30%-plus monthly gain.
Comex gold settled 1% higher at US$,4370.10.
Barbara Ann Bernard of Wincrest Capital told Bloomberg gold will stay near record highs because investors see the metal as an asset portfolio rather than just a hedge.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that oil had steadied as traders weighed geopolitical tensions from Venezuela to Russia and Yemen against concerns about a global glut.
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed to settle near US$58 a barrel in quiet trading ahead of New Year’s.
US
By Rheaa Rao and Andre Janse van Vuuren
(Bloomberg) — Stocks ended Tuesday modestly lower even after minutes from the Federal Reserves December meeting reinforced expectations for further interest-rate cuts next year.
Silver and gold bounced back after plunging from all-time highs.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% down for a third consecutive session after barely budging for most of the day.
Treasury yields climbed, with US 10-year rate around 4.12%.
The Bloomberg dollar spot index rose.
Apart from the release of the Feds meeting minutes, there has generally been a lack of major catalysts to move markets in recent days, especially as news flow and trading volumes have been muted.
A record of the US central banks most recent meeting showed that most Fed officials supported further rate cuts if inflation continues to decline over time.
But it also highlighted the divisions among policymakers, and how difficult it was for them to lower rates by a quarter percentage point earlier this month.
To keep pushing higher next year, the equity market needs a dovish Fed, Amanda Agati, PNC Asset Management Groups chief investment officer said on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.
I joke that the equity market is like a kid in a candy store, braving a sugar high for more policy accommodation, a more dovish Fed but it doesnt know whats good for it, she said.
The bond market is the adult in the room taking away the last lollipop.
It is maybe the first time in observable market history that were seeing the market react to the deficit and debt level concern. I think theres continued upward pressure on long yields, for sure.
US President Donald Trump, on Monday, said that he has a preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Fed, but is in no hurry to make an announcement. He also mused that he might fire Jerome Powell.
I think a firing of a Fed chair in the new year is not something that the market is priced for, but to the extent that we stay a little more dovish and dont start talking about moving in the opposite direction, the market can probably work through the noise, Agati said.
Traders on Tuesday also parsed data showing home-price growth in the US ticked up in October.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
Traders continue to lean closer toward favoring two cuts next year, instead of the three they priced earlier in December.
Despite Fed policymakers focus on labor market risks, traders are likely awaiting delayed data to corroborate those concerns.
Kristine Aquino, Managing Editor, Markets Live.
In a notable development in currency markets earlier, Chinas onshore yuan strengthened past the key 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2023.
A gauge of Asian shares nudged lower while European stocks jumped as rising metal prices boosted miners.
Overall, global equities are on track for a third straight annual gain in a year.
But the last few days have been lackluster for the cohort.
Tuesday marks the last trading session of the year for many equity markets, including Germany, Japan and South Korea.
The overriding theme is that global stock indices have lost momentum into year-end, wrote Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
There are plenty of reasons for this, including decent returns for 2025, and investors waiting to make big trading decisions until after the Christmas break.
Still, investors have reason to be optimistic heading into the new year.
MSCIs gauge for global stocks has climbed an average 1.4% in January over the last 10 years and advanced in six of those instances, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
While tariffs and shaky consumer confidence continue to create headwinds for corporate America, theyre set to lift earnings growth for US materials stocks to the highest in five years.
Constituents active in the metals and packaging industries are set to get the biggest lift, as trade protections strengthen steel prices and a volume play by consumer goods makers is driving demand for everything from cereal boxes to soda cans.
Silver, Gold
Precious metals continued to be in focus after trading turned volatile in the last few days.
Silver recovered most losses after its biggest one-day drop in more than five years.
Gold also edged higher after losing more than 4%.
We could still see a tug-of-war over the next few days in the precious metals before we see how things play out over the near-term, said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.
Among other metals, copper recorded the longest winning run since 2017 in a December rally powered by the prospect of more stress in the supply chain.
Nickel hit the highest since March after top producer Indonesia flagged plans to cut supply.
Oil steadied as traders weighed geopolitical tensions from Venezuela to Russia and Yemen against concerns about a global glut.

Corporate Highlights:
* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. plans to once again reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance Corp. after the rival mediacompany amended the terms of its offer, according to people familiar with the companys thinking.
* Tesla Inc. took the unusual step of publishing a series of sales estimates indicating the outlook for its vehicle deliveries may be lower than many investors were expecting.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is co-leading financing for a Texas project to build private power campuses for artificial intelligence.
* Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to buy Manus, a popular Singapore-based artificial intelligence agent with Chinese roots, in its effort to build a business around its massive AI investment.
* Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical shares jump the most intraday since August 2024, rebounding after the shares hit a record low Monday on study failure. Jefferies analysts say the stock could rebound in 2026 ahead of a late-stage data update.
* Consumers using Walmart Inc.s online services experienced outages earlier Tuesday, leaving them unable to access the retailers mobile ordering tools.
* Pop Mart International Group Ltd. shares slid the most in three weeks after media reports of waning reseller demand for its Labubu toys dented investor sentiment.
* Citigroup Inc. said it expects to post a roughly $1.1 billion after-tax loss on the sale of its remaining business in Russia to Renaissance Capital.
* Shares of biotech startup Insilico Medicine Cayman TopCo, which uses AI to improve drug discovery, surged as much as 48% in their trading debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1745
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3465
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 156.45 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $87,831.96
* Ether rose 0.8% to $2,955.83
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.12%
* Germanys 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.85%
* Britains 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.50%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $57.98 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,344.50 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Shikhar Balwani, Isabelle Lee and Kristine Aquino.

Have a wonderful Evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Shima

"Insecure people don’t stage comebacks, since they don’t leave the scene." — Atif Aslam

Shima Zangeneh

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

340A – 730 View Street

Victoria BC V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5851

Fax: 778-430-5828