Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Monday. Full moon tonight –🍓 strawberry moon🌙.
June 29, 2007: the iPhone goes on sale, accelerating the modern smartphone era and revolutionizing app-based computing.
June 29th, 2009: Financier Bernard Madoff received a 150-year sentence for his multibillion-dollar fraud.
June 29,1938: Olympic National Park established.
William James Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, b.1861.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, writer/adventurer, b. 1900.
| ִֶָ˖𖥔Strawberry Moon 2026⏾ : Tonight’s full moon is the lowest, and one of the smallest ‘micro moons’ all year |
June’s full moon, the Strawberry Moon, will rise Monday (June 29) as seen from North America and Europe, becoming officially full at 7:56 p.m. EDT. It will appear nearly full and brightly illuminated Tuesday (June 30) as well. Read more.
Science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul. -François Rabelais.
Video: Mamdani brings back NYC tradition … in a suit and tie
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ended one of his recent appearances with a fully clothed dive into a pool. Learn why.
‘Odyssey’ fever grips the Classics world
Fans of the ancient world are seizing their moment with the release of this summer’s blockbuster.
| Early Homo sapiens may have lived in rainforests, new clues suggest — and it could overturn our understanding of human evolution |
The long-held idea that rainforests held a minor role in our species’ evolution is changing — and our ability to adapt to these tropical areas may give insight about "what it means to be uniquely human." Read more.
| ‘It sounds so impossible’: Student studying fungus that makes users hallucinate tiny people may be on the verge of a scientific breakthrough |
INTERVIEW | Live Science spoke with Colin Domnauer, a PhD student in ethnobiology whose unraveling of a mushroom mystery could reveal a new hallucinogenic compound. Read more
| China’s top-secret ‘dragon’ space plane just released another unidentified object over Earth |
The Shenlong, or "divine dragon," space plane just deployed a mysterious payload above our planet. The top-secret spacecraft, which has never been properly photographed, has now released at least nine objects in low Earth orbit. Read more.
| ‘The fate of Earth depends on a delicate balance’: Our planet may survive the death of the sun after all, new models hint |
When the sun dies, it will become hundreds of times its current size and engulf the innermost planets. Earth may escape this infernal fate, according to state-of-the-art stellar evolution models. Read more.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Vancouver, Canada
Canada fans celebrate after their World Cup win against South Africa
Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
London, UK
Tennis spectators queue on day one of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south London
Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock
Durrës, Albania
Beachgoers on an artificial pier in western Albania. Europe’s deadly heatwave pushed east, with hundreds of millions of people sweltering across the continent despite fleeting relief from overnight storms, notably in France and Belgium
Photograph: Adnan Beci/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for June 29th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
52182.74 | +306.63 |
| +0.59% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7440.43 | +86.41 |
| +1.17% | ||
| NASDAQ | 25820.14 | +522.52 |
| +2.07% | ||
| TSX | 34823.82 | -156.18
-0.45% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 69468.11 | +107.23 |
| +0.15% | ||
| HANG SENG |
23026.68 | +354.82 |
| +1.57% | ||
| SEN SEX | 76728.37 | -372.10 |
| -0.48% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10484.22 | -23.80 |
| -0.23% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.373 | 3.386 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.773 | 3.795 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.3744 | 4.3686 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8630 | 4.8640 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7040 | 0.7048 |
| US $ |
1.4203 | 1.4189 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6162 | 1.6126 |
| US $ |
0.8752 | 1.1425 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4072.05 | 4001.80 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 70.75 | 69.23 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, spurred on by memories of how easy it was for Allied troops to move along Germany’s autobahns in 1945, and how difficult it had been for an army convoy to cross the U.S. in 1919, signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. It created the Interstate Highway System.
🌚Canada 🔮
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.4% at 34,823.82in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4%.
Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 138 of 220 shares fell, while 79 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.0%.
Brookfield Business Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.6%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 6.3%
* This month, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 30% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.3% below its 52-week high on June 17, 2026 and 30.6% above its low on June 30, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.5% in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.5 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$5.52t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.62% compared with 13.56% in the previous session and the average of 14.04% over the pastmonth
Index Points
Materials | -60.0765| -1.1| 21/38
Energy | -41.4434| -0.7| 12/26
Information Technology | -24.8932| -1.0| 4/5
Consumer Staples | -20.6753| -1.8| 2/8
Industrials | -17.5668| -0.5| 9/21
Consumer Discretionary | -11.8687| -1.1| 3/5
Communication Services | -11.5758| -1.9| 2/3
Utilities | -8.3828| -0.7| 2/11
Real Estate | -1.2657| -0.3| 5/12
Health Care | 0.5781| 0.5| 3/2
Financials | 41.0040| 0.3| 16/7
Shopify | -28.8900| -2.0| 66.0| -26.6
Enbridge | -17.9000| -1.5| -25.2| 19.7
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -16.9600| -2.1| 23.6| -6.2
Manulife Financial | 7.2500| 1.1| 23.0| 16.0
TD Bank | 11.4800| 0.6| 1.8| 32.2
RBC | 28.1100| 1.0| 17.6| 24.3
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange dropped on Monday as losses in telecom, industrial and utility stocks outweighed gains in healthcare and financials, while investors look ahead to a busy week of economic data, including Canada’s April GDP report.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 156.18 points, or 0.45%, to 34,823.82, with a majority of sectors ending lower.
Health Care led gainers, up 0.56%, with Battery Metals Index and Financial, up 0.21% and 0.33%, respectively.
Telecom led decliners, down 1.38%, while Information and Technology, down 0.23%, Base Metals, down 0.03%, Energy, down 0.08%, Industrials, down 0.48%, and Utilities, down 0.65%.
In commodities, gold prices eased on Monday on rising Treasury yields even as the dollar weakened.
The precious metal for August delivery was last seen down 1.3% to $4,058.50.
However, despite the drop, the price of the precious metal is sticking above the seven-month low touched on Thursday that followed a report of yet another monthly rise in U.S. inflation, pushing the dollar higher on expectations higher interest rates are coming.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed higher on Monday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt the weekend strikes that had threatened their ceasefire.
WTI crude oil for August delivery closed up 2.2% to settle at $70.75 per barrel, while August Brent oil was last seen up 1.4% to $73.03.
On the trade front, Ontario moved to boost bilateral ties with another US state as tariff-related uncertainty continued to impact cross-border relations.
Ontario signed an initial agreement with Utah on Monday to strengthen trade ties, extending a series of bilateral agreements the province has reached with US states since trade tensions escalated, Chris Fox of CTV News reported.
Premier Doug Ford and Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed the pact while attending the annual meeting of Western U.S. governors in Deer Valley, Utah.
"Canada and the United States are always stronger when we work together to increase cooperation, collaboration and trade so we can grow the economy on both sides of the border," Ford said in a news release.
"With nearly $7 billion in annual trade between Ontario and Utah already, today’s agreement will help deliver new opportunities for our province’s world-class workers and companies and create lasting prosperity in both regions," he added.
On the economic front, National Bank said the latest Statistics Canada data pointed to mounting strains in Canada’s manufacturing sector despite broader economic resilience.
The agency’s firm count data published Monday negates the argument that the country has remained "broadly resilient" because the effective U.S. tariff rate on its exports is relatively low, writes National Bank in a note.
While that claim may hold at the aggregate level, the same doesn’t apply for sectors like manufacturing, which are most exposed to trade friction, said chief economist Stefane Marion.
National Bank’s Hot Chart showed that the number of active manufacturing firms in Q1 fell to its lowest level in at least 10 years, outside the COVID-19 collapse, even though firm counts across all other industries are much closer to cycle highs.
Looking ahead, Scotiabank said Canada’s economy likely continued to expand in May, with early indicators pointing to another monthly gain in GDP.
Statistics Canada’s preliminary estimate for May gross domestic product is expected to show another monthly gain after an advance estimate pointed to 0.4% month-over-month growth in April, Scotiabank said in a note.
"As for May’s preliminary estimate, I’m tracking another gain based on more limited readings.
Hours worked at were up by 0.6% m/m SA which is a solid plus given that GDP is hours worked times labour productivity," wrote Head of Capital Markets Derek Holt.
Additionally, BMO Capital Markets said Canada’s economy likely rebounded modestly in April ahead of this week’s GDP report.
Canada’s economy might have "rebounded modestly" in the monthly GDP release for April due out on Tuesday as the week’s key data point, BMO Capital Markets said in a note.
"After successive quarterly declines, the economy likely rebounded slightly in Q2 (around 1% annualized)," Senior Economist Sal Guatieri said in the note.
"The May flash estimate could point to continued growth given reported advances in retail and manufacturers’ sales."
Also on the agenda for this week is a deadline over the Wednesday formal review date for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.
"We’re not holding our breath for a quick resolution," the economist said, adding that trilateral talks have yet to begin.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in several technology giants lifted stocks as the recent artificial-intelligence selloff lured buyers betting the industry’s investment boom will continue to support solid corporate earnings.
In the final stretch of what’s set to be the best quarter for equities in six years, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% while the Nasdaq 100 climbed about twice as much.
A gauge of the Magnificent Seven mega caps, which has largely underperformed the market this month, gained 2.6%.
In a volatile session, chipmakers rebounded after posting their worst week since April 2025.
“The bounce we’re seeing is a welcome development for the bulls,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.
“We continue to believe strongly that the action in the tech sector will continue to be the main driver in the stock market.”
While tech doesn’t have to keep outperforming in a big way, the sector needs to refrain from declining in a significant manner due to its heavy weight in the S&P 500, he noted.
Otherwise, individual investors could start “rotating” toward cash, especially after hearing so much talk about bubbles in the past year, Maley added.
The stock resurgence has defied skeptics, coming in the face of war, an oil supply shock and inflation jitters.
Sinc bottoming three months ago, the US equity benchmark has staged one of the swiftest rebounds this century, gaining 20% from its March 30 low to its June 2 peak — something it has done just three other times since 2000.
“As the week begins, remember it marks the end of the quarter and the first half,” said JJ Kinahan at Cboe Global Markets.
“That means we’re likely to see waves of volatility as institutional fund managers rebalance their portfolios. Expect some instability, but don’t overthink it.”
Equities bounced despite a rise in oil prices.
President Donald Trump said peace talks with Iran are set to resume on Tuesday after both sides agreed to halt a series of tit-for-tat attacks over the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed strikes served as a reminder of the fragility of their truce.
Calm prevailed in the Treasury market as the US Supreme Court ruled that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can stay in her job for now, reinforcing the central bank’s independence from the White House.
“A Fed perceived as subject to political direction would likely introduce a persistent risk premium to US dollar-based assets,” said Michael Reynolds at Glenmede.
“Removing that tail risk, even one that markets had only remotely priced, is a quiet but meaningful positive for the stability of the long-term rate outlook.”
Elsewhere, a small drop sent the yen to its weakest level against the dollar since 1986.
Corporate Highlights:
* Verizon Communications Inc. and the UK’s BT Group Plc agreed to create a joint venture for their international businesses in a merger that will take the low-margin units off their books and allow the carriers to focus on their home markets.
* Comcast Corp. plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky, unwinding a strategy that began more than a decade ago after struggling to demonstrate that a cable and media conglomerate would benefit shareholders.
* Rocket Lab Corp. agreed to buy Iridium Communications Inc., a pioneer in satellite telephones, for $54 a share in a cash-and- stock transaction as players in the space industry try to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service.
* Martin Marietta Materials Inc. agreed to combine with building materials supplier Lhoist North America in a transaction valued at $13.5 billion, including debt.
* Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the financing model underpinning its Bitcoin strategy, giving itself broader powers to sell the cryptocurrency, buy back securities and preserve liquidity as it adapts to mountin pressure on the structure that fueled years of aggressive accumulation.
* What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Activity in leveraged equity ETFs tends to pose technical risks to the market given that investors in these funds tend to buy into strength and sell into weakness.
While such a tendency helped the Nasdaq 100 on its way up, it’s proving to be a double-edged sword now.”
—Kristine Aquino, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World Index rose 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1426
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3261
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 161.94 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $60,401.99
* Ether rose 3.2% to $1,622.08
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.37%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.86%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.72%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.9% to $70.54 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 1.8% to $4,015.59 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will,
and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why. –Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.
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