Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy New Year! Happy Monday. Twelfth Night – the evening before the Epiphany.
January 5, 1895 – Alfred Dreyfus Stripped of Rank – French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is publicly stripped of his rank after being falsely convicted of treason in the Dreyfus Affair. History & Headlines
January 5, 1914 – Henry Ford Announces $5 Workday – Henry Ford doubles the pay for his assembly‑line workers to $5 a day, reshaping U.S. industrial labor practices. History.com
January 5, 1925 – First Female U.S. Governor Takes Office – Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first female governor in U.S. history, elected in Wyoming. Jagran Josh
January 5, 1933 – Golden Gate Bridge Construction Begins – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco begins, eventually becoming one of the world’s most famous suspension bridges. AP News
January 5, 1974 – Senate Watergate Committee – President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee. Go to the Article.
January 5, 2005 – Dwarf Planet Eris Discovered – The dwarf planet Eris is discovered using telescope images, later reshaping our understanding of the Solar System. Bold History
Umberto Eco, Italian novelist and philosopher (The Name of the Rose). b, 1932
Robert Duvall, American actor and filmmaker. b, 1931
Diane Keaton, American actress and director. b, 1946
Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator and film director, co-founder of Studio Ghibli. b, 1941
Bradley Cooper, American actor and filmmaker. b, 1975
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| ‘Wolf Supermoon’ gallery: See the first full moon of 2026 in pictures from across the world. Read More. |
The first full moon of 2026 shone brightly Saturday (Jan. 3). Known as the Wolf Moon, it appeared more luminous and larger than usual, rising together with Jupiter.
| ‘More Neanderthal than human’: How DNA from our long-lost ancestors affects our health today |
Neanderthals and humans mated millennia ago, and their legacy lives on in us today. Here’s how. Read More.
| Mysterious Voynich manuscript may be a cipher, a new study suggests |
A newly invented cipher may shed light on how the mysterious Voynich manuscript was made in medieval times. Read More.
| An experimental mRNA treatment counters immune cell aging in mice |
A trio of mRNA molecules could help guard against the harmful effects of aging on immune cells, a study in mice finds. Read More.
| Giant ‘cow of the Cretaceous’ discovered almost 100 years ago identified as new duck-billed dinosaur |
The dino lived during the Late Cretaceous alongside other hadrosaurids in present-day New Mexico. Read More.
The ‘cult of creatine’
Creatine is everywhere, championed by fitness influencers and mental health advocates alike. CNN’s Allison Morrow joined the trend and shared her experience.
One’s a Democrat and the other’s a Republican — and they’re twins
You can imagine their family dinners are full of spirited debate … Here’s how they bridge the divide
Fish sells for record $3.2 million
This massive bluefin tuna fetched a record $3.2 million at Japan’s Toyosu market auction.
NFL coaching carousel
NFL teams that missed out on the playoffs are beginning to rebuild their coaching staffs for next year. Sunday brought a major shake-up for one team.
Critics’ Choice Awards red carpet in 10 looks
The 31st Critics Choice Awards aired Sunday, with many stars opting for pared-back outfits over extravagant ensembles.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
New York City, US
The moon sets behind the Statue of Liberty
Photograph: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Munich, Germany
People skate on the frozen Nymphenburg canal in front of Nymphenburg Palace
Photograph: Fariha Farooqui/Reuters
Montreal, Canada
As part of the 25th anniversary of the Montreal International Mosaiculture, three giant garden sculptures permanently installed at the Jardins des Floralies on Notre-Dame Island continue to attract public attention
Photograph: Serkan Senturk/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock
Market Closes for January 5th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
48977.18 | +594.79 |
| +1.23% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6902.05 | +43.58 |
| +0.64% | ||
| NASDAQ | 23395.82 | +160.19 |
| +0.69% | ||
| TSX | 32219.95 | +336.58 |
| +1.06% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 51832.80 | +1493.32 |
| +2.97% | ||
| HANG SENG |
26347.24 | +8.77 |
| +0.03% | ||
| SENSEX | 85439.62 | -322.39 |
| -0.38% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10004.57 | +53.43 |
| +0.54% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.420 | 3.470 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.882 | 3.917 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.1651 | 4.1907 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8579 | 4.8702 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7260 | 0.7282 |
| US $ |
1.3773 | 1.3731 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6197 | 1.6136 |
| US $ |
0.8535 | 1.1716 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4456.40 | 4367.80 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 58.32 | 57.32 |
MARKET COMMENTARY:
January 5, 1999: Amazon said fourth-quarter sales totaled $250 million, more than triple the level of the same quarter a year earlier. Shares of the still unprofitable company surged and were the most traded that day on Nasdaq.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.1%, or 336.58 to 32,219.95 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.5% on Nov. 24.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 138 of 218 shares rose, while 79 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.0%.
Energy Fuels Inc/Canada had the largest increase, rising 10.8%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 19 times. The next day, it advanced 10 times for an average 0.8% and declined nine times for an average 1.4%
* The index advanced 29% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 45% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7% in the past 5 days and rose 2.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.8 on a trailing basis and 20.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.07t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.07% compared with 10.70% in the previous session and the average of 12.79% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | 188.7353| 3.3| 52/4
Financials | 168.4664| 1.6| 20/4
Information Technology| 99.6232| 3.3| 6/4
Industrials | 12.5609| 0.4| 21/8
Real Estate | 8.2298| 1.7| 19/0
Health Care | 1.3240| 1.5| 3/1
Communication Services| 0.7346| 0.1| 3/2
Utilities | -8.7972| -0.8| 3/10
Consumer Staples | -10.8846| -1.0| 1/9
Consumer Discretionary| -11.5864| -1.1| 6/3
Energy | -111.8228| -2.3| 4/34
Shopify | 110.5000| 6.0| 6.9| 3.6
Brookfield Corp | 46.4800| 4.8| 53.0| 6.6
RBC | 36.0900| 1.6| 19.9| 1.8
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -14.2300| -2.2| 25.4| -1.0
Enbridge | -30.3300| -3.0| 35.0| -2.5
Canadian Natural Resources | -41.3400| -6.0| 13.8| -4.8
MT Newswires:
A winning start to 2026 for the Toronto Stock Exchange continued in some style Monday, with stock pickers pushing it to a new record close, boosted by talk of resilience in the Canadian economy and renewed buying of commodities.
Today, the TSX closed up 336.58 points or 1.1% at 32,219.95, having breached the 32,300 level over the second half of the session.
Most sectors were higher, led by Base Metals up 5%, helped by precious metals prices.
Interestingly, Energy led decliners, down 3.6%, although the oil price was up.
This all comes after the index rose near 170 points last Friday, the first trading day of the new year, when it recorded its first win in five, since setting a prior record close of 32,058.73 on Dec. 23.
Going in to today the index was up 27% from the Inauguration Day close of 25,067.92 on Monday, Jan 20, 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet.
Among individual stocks, UBS has raised its price target on Aritzia (ATZ.TO) to $150, from $118, and maintained its Buy rating, on the expectation of a "solid" third-quarter report after market close on Jan. 8.
Elsewhere, Stifel Canada has hiked its one-year price target on Aritzia by $32, to $132, and kept its Buy rating on the clothier.
In a note to clients, Stifel analyst Martin Landry raised his third-quarter earnings estimate by $0.20, to $1.02, above consensus forecasts of $0.86. Shares in ATZ closed only modestly higher.
On the economic front, BMO Capital Markets said in a note entitled ‘2026 Outlook: Resilience and Risks’ and dated Jan. 5, the best that can be said about Canada’s economy in 2025 is that it "likely skirted a recession", thanks to the duty-free status of USMCA-compliant goods, supportive fiscal and monetary policies, and the TSX’s "blistering" 28% rally, BMO noted real gross domestic product growth likely slowed to 1.7% from 2.0% in 2024.
In addition, it noted, the annual average figure likely understates the true deceleration in activity, with GDP likely rising just 0.8% on a Q4/Q4 basis after surging 3.1% in 2024.
But BMO expects stronger 1.9% growth in 2026 — Q4/Q4, or 1.4% annual — "assuming no nasty surprises on the trade front".
Of commodities, U.S. copper prices set a new record high Monday, surpassing their last peak from July, when President Trump’s tariff policies rattled the market, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Separately, The WSJ noted oil futures posted gains as the market sees it taking time for Venezuela to lift production following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro.
"It will take a long time to shake out the impact regarding oil supplies and hence, petroleum pricing," Ritterbusch and Associates is cited as saying in a note.
"We believe that there will be negligible effect on oil futures for at least a couple of months given the ongoing embargo on sanctioned cargoes and numerous legal and logistical challenges that will take a long time to work out."
On Sunday, The WSJ noted, OPEC+ reaffirmed its decision to hold output through Q1 in a meeting that was overshadowed by the Venezuelan events.
WTI settled up 1.7% at US$58.32 a barrel after falling to $56.31 overnight.
Brent rose 1.7% to $61.76, up from the session’s $59.75 low.
MarketWatch reported gold and silver emerged as the big winners of flight to safety trades by investors on Monday following the U.S. intervention in Venezuela — "helping to alleviate concerns about their steep price climbs in 2025 and whether a correction might be in store for the new year."
It said investors flocked to precious metals as part of a longer-term trend of seeking alternatives to the U.S. dollar and U.S. government debt following periods of American military action.
It noted gold for February delivery spiked almost 3% to above US$4,450 an ounce on Monday, following a more than 60% surge in prices last year.
Silver for delivery next month soared 8% to $76.49 an ounce after prices more than doubled in 2025.
Meanwhile, Rosenberg Research said it had made some minor updates to the holdings in the Rosie Fund, including exiting its silver position.
It noted silver has delivered high returns and recent positioning "looks stretched".
It views silver as becoming volatile in the near term but remains "constructive" in gold.
Rosenberg Research, in citing a new investment in global refiners (VanEck Oil Refiners ETF, CRAK), said it is pivoting to global refiners which profit primarily from refining margins rather than spot oil prices.
This sector offers resilience across various economic scenarios.
A stable oil price environment boosts margins, while geographic diversification protects against regional shocks, it added.
The research, in also citing new investment in Energy Infrastructure & Materials (iShares Energy Storage and Materials ETF, IBAT), said it is building exposure to the ‘upstream’ suppliers, the companies providing the essential technology and materials for global energy infrastructure.
"This is a play on secular trends like electrification and digitization, which drive demand for grid expansion and energy storage.
By diversifying globally (across Asia, Europe, and the U.S.), we mitigate the risks associated with an over-reliance on U.S.-centric AI investment cycles while capturing growth from industrial policy and infrastructure development."
In a bigger picture markets outlook piece, Edward Jones in a note dated Jan.
2, 2026, said it had come up with some resolutions for investors that it hopes will put them in good stead for whatever 2026 has in store.
First, Edward Jones recommends a ‘check-in’ on the health of the Canadian and U.S. economies in early 2026 to provide a "cross-check of optimistic market expectations".
Second, it said, investors should consider deploying excess cash over time, based on their risk tolerance, investment objective and time horizon.
"With interest rates down significantly from their peak and offering little to no pick-up over inflation, stocks and bonds may offer better returns."
Next, Edward Jones thinks investors should target a well-diversified portfolio that includes international equities across the capitalization structure, alongside domestic investments, helping to spread risk and take advantage of broadening earnings.
Finally, it said, 2025 provided a lesson that "investors should avoid playing politics with portfolios, with markets delivering robust returns despite a barrage of policy headlines".
It added this mantra is worth repeating in a U.S. midterm year and with CUSMA up for renegotiation.
Price: 32219.95, Change: +336.58, Percent Change: +1.1
US
By Ira Iosebashvili, Julien Ponthus and Andre Janse van Vuuren
(Bloomberg) — US stocks finished higher on Monday, as investors snapped up tech shares even while the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro fanned worries over geopolitical risk.
Oil prices rose, along with gold.
The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.8%, with tech-focused mega caps such as Amazon.com Inc. and Tesla Inc. among the gainers.
The benchmark S&P 500 Index followed suit, rising 0.6% as shares of energy companies and financials rallied, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record.
Bitcoin was up more than 3%.
Brent crude rose as traders weighed the fallout from the developments in Caracas.
Chevron Corp. shares traded higher, alongside other US oil majors, after President Donald Trump floated plans for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s industry.
On a day that combined demand for havens as well as riskier assets, gold offered safety as questions swirled about what the weekend’s events hold for the global order: Prices for the precious metal were up almost 3% to above $4,400 an ounce, while silver prices saw a more than 4% increase.
Equity traders, however, showed little concern that tensions will curtail a three-year bull run.
“The bullish case for equities remains intact,” according to Adrian Helfert, chief investment officer at Westwood.
“Broader market leadership should look past Venezuela entirely unless cascading geopolitical events emerge.”
The buoyant mood in big tech stocks was prevalent in Asia, where a regional gauge hit an all-time high.
In US trading, gainers included Qualcomm Inc., which said it’s extending a push into the market for processors that are the heart of personal computers.
It “feels like an inertia market, with investors still grumbling about a possible AI bubble, but too afraid to walk away from the promises of a bigger, better AI future,” said Michael Bailey at FBB Capital Partners.
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell to 4.16%, as a report released Monday morning showed US manufacturing activity shrank in December by the most since 2024.
Venezuela Bonds
Venezuela’s deeply discounted bonds traded higher after the capture of Maduro set the stage for the potential regime change that investors have been betting on.
Defaulted notes from the sovereign and state-run oil company PDVSA have already more than doubled to between 23 and 33 cents on the dollar in the past few months as Trump ramped up pressure.
While still far out, the prospect of a potential debt restructuring could fuel further gains.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, asked the US to work with her country, striking a more conciliatory tone toward the Trump administration after her initial outrage at the capture of Maduro.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“It’s reasonable to question whether the US operation in Venezuela will mark a period of even more overt US projection of power.
If the White House thinks it will be a vote-winner come November, then that’s what we’re likely to see.
That in turn could imply more volatility materializing at some point.”
— Cameron Crise, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. Key US economic data will likely shape the week ahead.
In addition to the December jobs report, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will issue figures on Wednesday for November job openings, quits and layoffs.
The Fed lowered its target band for short-term lending rates at its past three meetings in response to weakening labor-market conditions, and officials are expected to reduce it further this year.
Later in the week, the US government will report on housing starts, while the University of Michigan issues its preliminary January consumer sentiment index.
“Even as geopolitics are once again top of mind for investors, we’re reminded that this week offers an array of key fundamental updates,” wrote Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets.
Those are “still the most relevant wildcard for the US economy and monetary policy.”
Corporate News:
* US oil stocks jumped on Monday after President Donald Trump pledged to revive the Venezuelan energy sector following the capture of Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
* Precious metals stocks also advanced, including Fresnillo Plc, Newmont Corp. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
* US initial public offerings delivered underwhelming results in 2025 as equity-market volatility and increasing scrutiny around themes such as crypto and artificial intelligence hit some of the year’s most high-profile listings.
* Saks Global Enterprises is looking to line up a loan of as much as $1 billion to keep the business running as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that could happen in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1725
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3543
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 156.35 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.2% to $94,153.04
* Ether rose 3.1% to $3,240.57
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.16%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.87%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.51%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $58.34 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 2.6% to $4,446.67 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Anand Krishnamoorthy, Isabelle Lee and Vildana Hajric.
Have a lovely evening everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Let the future tell the truth and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. –Nikola Tesla, 1856-1943.
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