Dear Friends,
Tangents: Festa dos Tabuleiros, Portugal
July 8, 1497: 🚢🌍Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sets sail, becoming the first European to reach India by sea and opening a direct spice route that reshapes global trade.
July 8, 1955: 🏊🌊🏆Bert O. Thomas, 29, becomes the first person to swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C. It takes 11 hours, 10 minutes for the Tacoma man to swim 18.3 miles, and he wins $3,500 in prize money. A brass plaque on Ediz Hook is placed shortly after the historic swim, commemorating where Thomas entered the water. In May 1956, Thomas swims 18.5 miles between West Seattle and Tacoma, bucking strong winds and the tide, in 15 hours and 23 minutes. In 1958, he attempts to be the first to do a two-way, nonstop swim of the English Channel, but a leg cramp on the return stops him. Thomas dies of a heart attack in Tacoma at age 46. (Compiled from HistoryLink.org)
July 8, 2004: ⚖️🏢📉Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company’s collapse. (He was convicted, but died while the case was on appeal.) Go to article
John D. Rockefeller, financier, b. 1839.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, writer, b. 1926.
Anjelica Huston, actress, b.1951.
Anna Quindlen, writer, b. 1953.
| 2,500-year-old tomb of a ‘warrior prince’ with chariot and helmet discovered on Italy’s Adriatic coast |
🏺⚔️👑Archaeologists have excavated a royal burial ground of the Piceni, a mysterious pre-Roman civilization in Italy that is not well-known historically. Read more.
| ‘One of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in America’ discovered in Boston |
🪦🖤Experts have identified the gravestone of Boston, a free Black man who died in 1729. Read more.
| Euclid telescope discovers the 2 most ancient monster black holes in the universe — each brighter than a trillion suns |
🔭🕳️✨A collection of newfound objects discovered by the Euclid telescope more than doubles the number of known quasars from the universe’s first billion years. Read more.
| ‘Time was speeding up, slowing down, or even stopping’: Physicist demonstrates a key theory of time by building a ‘mini-universe’ in his lab |
⏳🔬🌌By ignoring part of his own experiment, a physicist coaxed time to emerge from within a closed quantum system. Read more.
| Are CAPTCHAs obsolete in the age of AI? |
🤖🔐❓How are Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHAs) being threatened by AI? Read more.
Festival of buns
It’s a strange sight —people quickly scaling a tower of baked goods and pocketing the buns as they race to the top. The reason why is rooted in a century-old tradition.
Too ugly, too noisy, too American?
The French have long spurned air conditioning units, but scorching temperatures are quickly changing attitudes about A/C.
Goalkeeper hero
🧤⚽🏆Paraguay’s goalkeeper captured the world’s attention after defeating Germany in a dramatic shootout. His journey from struggling young father to international hero has made the victory even more remarkable
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Debrecen, Hungary
Blooming sunflowers in a field in north-eastern Hungary
Photograph: Zsolt Czeglédi/EPA
Wimbledon, UK
People queuing in the sweltering heat outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club of the Wimbledon tennis championships, as temperatures are forecast to reach 32C
Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock
Lampedusa, Italy
People bathe at Rabbit Beach on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a protected nature reserve with limited daily visitor access to avoid overtourism
Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for July 8th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
52348.39 | -576.76 |
| -1.09% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7482.71 | -21.14 |
| -0.28% | ||
| NASDAQ | 25870.65 | +51.96 |
| +0.20% | ||
| TSX | 34935.80 | -336.79
-0.95% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 66819.05 | -1437.91 |
| -2.11% | ||
| HANG SENG |
24199.46 | +702.57 |
| +2.99% | ||
| SEN SEX | 76503.60 | -1677.12 |
| -2.15% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10489.04 | -176.84 |
| -1.66% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.567 | 3.494 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.957 | 3.902 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.5792 | 4.5511 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
5.0721 | 5.0557 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7058 | 0.7042 |
| US $ |
1.4167 | 1.4200 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6180 | 1.6179 |
| US $ |
0.8755 | 1.1420 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
8252.66 | 8436.24 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 70.44 | 70.44 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1889, Vol. I, No. 1, the first issue of The Wall Street Journal, was published by Charles Henry Dow, Edward Davis Jones and Charles M. Bergstresser.
🍨Canada🍦
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1% at 34,935.80 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 2.3% on June 5 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 7 of 11 sectors lost; 134 of 220 shares fell, while 84 rose.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.6%.
Aris Mining Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.1%.
Insights
* The index advanced 30% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.9% below its 52-week high on June 17, 2026 and 30.1% above its low on Aug. 1, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.4 on a trailing basis and 16.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.56t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.99% compared with 12.83% in the previous session and the average of 14.00% over the past month
Index Points
Financials | -237.6033| -1.9| 2/20
Materials | -177.1556| -3.2| 5/55
Information Technology| -37.3629| -1.4| 2/7
Industrials | -15.7757| -0.4| 12/18
Consumer Discretionary| -8.2441| -0.8| 2/6
Real Estate | -5.2200| -1.1| 3/15
Health Care | -0.0618| -0.1| 1/4
Communication Services| 1.4983| 0.3| 4/1
Utilities | 12.3292| 1.0| 14/0
Consumer Staples | 15.1299| 1.3| 8/2
Energy | 115.6772| 2.0| 31/6
TD Bank | -52.6800| -2.6| 159.5| 29.8
RBC | -51.5000| -1.8| 52.4| 24.6
Shopify | -38.5400| -2.6| 12.3| -23.7
Cenovus | 18.4400| 5.5| -8.7| 62.6
Suncor | 25.9700| 3.9| -41.6| 37.3
Canadian Natural Resources | 34.3400| 4.1| -16.3| 29.3
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange dropped on Wednesday as losses in financial and mining shares outweighed a sharp rise in energy stocks, while renewed fighting between the US. and Iran fueled inflation concerns and weighed on investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 336.79 points, or 0.95%, to 34,935.80, with a majority of sectors ending lower.
Energy led gainers, up 3.78%, with Telecom and Utilities, up 0.31% and 0.98%, respectively.
Battery Metals Index led decliners, down 5.56%, while Financial, down 1.86%, Base Metals, down 2.01%, Industrials, down 0.42%, Information and Technology, down 0.71% and Health Care, down 0.04%.
In commodities, gold traded lower on Wednesday as renewed fighting between Iran and the U.S. boosted oil prices and the dollar, reviving inflation fears that weighed on the precious metal.
Gold for August delivery was last seen down $80.90, or 2%, to $4,076.50 per ounce, the lowest since June 30.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed higher on Wednesday as the US.
and Iran traded attacks, with President Trump saying the ceasefire deal reached last month is over.
WTI crude oil for August delivery closed up $3.08, or 4.4%, to settle at $73.52 per barrel, the highest since June 18, while September Brent oil was last seen up $3.80, or 5.1%, to $77.96.
However, despite renewed fighting, ships trapped in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war have continued to move through the Strait of Hormuz, with hormuzstraitmonitor.com reporting 25 ships moved through the waterway in the past day.
Investors also weighed a weaker outlook for the Canadian economy.
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday trimmed its Canadian economic growth forecasts for this year and 2027 on slower population growth, weak investment and trade uncertainty.
These headwinds continue to outweigh the support provided by stronger terms of trade and resilient household consumption, wrote the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook.
The IMF now predicts Canada’s economy will expand 1.1% this year and 1.7% in 2027, down from 1.5% and 1.9% estimated respectively in April.
The country’s economy grew 1.9% last year.
Stronger 2027 growth depends on effective policy implementation and a firmer private investment response, added the IMF.
In currency markets, the outlook for the Canadian dollar also remained in focus.
Deutsche Bank said it is now taking profits on the USD/CAD long position, which has returned around 3.5% on the investment, while maintaining a negative view on the Canadian dollar.
"USD/CAD has only been higher than this in three episodes in the past 20 years," Tim Baker, Deutsche Bank macro strategist, wrote in a note on Wednesday.
However, much of the move has been driven by broad U.S. dollar strength and Baker added he doesn’t expect the current greenback rally to extend.
Deutsche Bank’s outlook remains skewed toward USD/CAD moving to C$1.40 rather than back to the mid-C$1.30s, given limited downside potential.
Additionally, Canadian bank shares are over-valuing future growth and potential upside, said Jefferies on Wednesday.
Except for Scotiabank (BNS.TO) and EQB (EQB.TO), all Canadian Banks are trading at an NTM P/E valuation above their respective historical peaks since 2005, Jeffries director of research John Aiken wrote.
Bank ROEs currently average 14.6%, compared with their historical average of 15.4%. Aiken found that near-to-medium ROE is currently the strongest driver of relative valuations, rather than EPS growth.
In corporate news, Air Canada (AC.TO) announced a leadership change, naming a new chief executive to succeed retiring CEO Michael Rousseau.
The airline named Anko Van der Werff as president, chief executive officer and board member, effective by the end of January 2027.
Van der Werff is replacing Rousseau, who previously announced his retirement after 19 years with Air Canada, the airline company said Wednesday.
Air Canada said Van der Werff has a 25-year track record and is currently serving as president and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines.
Rousseau’s retirement is effective Aug. 31. During the transition period, the executive committee will report to the board of directors, Air Canada said.
Besides, a new survey pointed to a positive hiring outlook among Canadian employers, even as recruitment challenges persist.
Nearly three quarters of a survey of 508 Canadian hiring managers feel positive about their company’s hiring outlook for the remainder of 2026, with 43% of companies planning to boost the number of employees.
However more than eight in 10 managers anticipate challenges in filling positions, with 45% citing difficulties with finding qualified candidates, the survey, conducted on behalf of staffing company Express Employment International, highlighted.
A similar survey conducted last year had 67% of participants feeling positive about hiring with 44% planning to hire more.
US
By Stephen Kirkland
(Bloomberg) — Oil gained and US equity futures ticked lower after the US said it is striking Iran for the second straight day, an escalation of violence that threatens to choke shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.2% to more than $75 a barrel at the open in early Asia trading after notching its biggest daily climb in five weeks in the prior session, with Brent crude briefly topping $80 a barrel.
S&P 500 contracts slipped 0.1% after the US benchmark closed down 0.3% on Wednesday.
Asian equity futures pointed to gains in Japan and South Korea and losses in Hong Kong and Australia.
The additional strikes were started “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US Central Command said in a social media post.
The attacks came just hours after President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey said the US would probably target the country again and could resume a blockade, raising concerns about a return to all-out war.
The moves posed the greatest threat yet to talks toward a broader agreement to end the war that has jolted global markets.
The US has blamed Iran for attacks on some ships in recent days.
Tehran has said repeatedly it won’t allow vessels to transit the key Strait of Hormuz without its permission.
“Markets weren’t initially taking the re-escalation in US- Iran tensions too seriously earlier this week,” said Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.
“But today, that seems to have changed.”
The flare-up in tensions and jump oil prices rekindled inflation concerns, prompting money markets Wednesday to boost their bets the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates by October, compared with December previously.
Meanwhile, the two-year yield, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed’s monetary policy, rose as much as five basis points to 4.23%, within a basis point of its peak last month, amid a selloff in global bond markets.
The 10-year yield climbed as much as four basis points to 4.59%, the highest since late May.
Veteran strategist Ed Yardeni said the rupture in the ceasefire between the US and Iran risks sparking a fresh acceleration in price growth, which in turn could compel the Fed to raise interest rates.
A few Fed officials in their most-recent policy meeting said there was a case for raising rates, though they ultimately supported the decision to leave rates on hold.
More generally, minutes of their June gathering reflected growing concern over inflation just as worries over the labor market slightly receded.
“One thing is certain: future policy is heavily contingent on the political situation in the Middle East,” said Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial.
“If we can tease out any forward guidance from the minutes, it would be the committee is working through a wide range of scenarios and will not commit to a specific scenario until the incoming data provides necessary clarity.”
Corporate Highlights:
* China plans to allow top artificial intelligence companies to buy a limited amount of H200 chips from Nvidia Corp., a sign the country is easing restrictions on the coveted US technology, according to the Information.
* SpaceXAI has unveiled a new artificial-intelligence model built in partnership with AI coding startup Cursor that’s meant to be more adept at finance, legal and coding tasks, in a bid by Elon Musk’s firm to gain ground on rivals like Anthropic PBC and OpenAI.
* China plans to allow top AI companies to buy a limited amount of H200 chips from Nvidia Corp., a sign the country is easing restrictions on the coveted US technology, according to the Information.
* Apple Inc., following through on a pledge to boost spending on US-made components, said its expanded agreement with Broadcom Inc. is expected to top $30 billion.
* Meta Platforms Inc. will invest around $10 billion to build its first data center in Canada as the company expands its infrastructure to support its AI ambitions.
* Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC is embarking on its first external fundraising round, according to people familiar with the matter, seizing on the enthusiasm ginned up by archrival SpaceX’s record initial public offering.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Rising volatility in oil due to renewed US-Iran tensions will be a bigger headwind to risk sentiment than prices in the $70s.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* Hang Seng futures fell 0.2% as of 7:01 a.m. Tokyo time
* S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 0.6%
* Nikkei 225 futures rose 1.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was unchanged at $1.1417
* The yen was unchanged at 162.59 per dollar
* The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8064 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $62,203.9
* Ether rose 0.2% to $1,738.33
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $74.67 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
The scariest moment is always just before you start. -Stephen King, b. 1947.
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