Dear Friends,
Tangents:
June 8, 1887: Herman Hollerith files a patent for his punch card calculator, an early data-processing machine that helped process the 1890 U.S. Census and saved years of manual work. His company later becomes part of IBM.
June 8, 2023: New York’s air quality sinks to the lowest in the world (air quality index 218) as smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the American north east. Go to article.
1783: Laki Volcano explosion, Iceland.
Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, b. 1867.
Major Apple announcement
Apple is expected to reveal an all-new version of Siri today, bringing its virtual assistant up to speed with ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
The hottest new social activity is not talking
Silent reading clubs are giving like-minded bookworms a brain boost.
Man sneaks onto United flight without a valid ticket Somehow, it’s happened again.
Fourth time’s the charm
After three previous losses in major finals, tennis star Alexander Zverev finally broke through with a five-set French Open victory.
World Cup beginner’s guide
Here’s what you need to knowhttps://www.cnn.com/2026/06/08/sport/world-cup-what-you-need-to-know before the world’s biggest sporting event kicks off on Thursday.
I want something from a human being, and I’m disappointed a lot. -Stephen Gary Wozniak “Steve”.
| Coming El Niño will be the strongest ever recorded, new forecast predicts |
A June update by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts suggests that the coming weather event will be the strongest ever measured.
| Scientists race to collect the last seeds from a critically endangered tree before it goes extinct |
Seeds from the last surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree are now stored in Kew Gardens’ Millennium Seed Bank as researchers work to find ways to reintroduce the species into the wild. Read more.
| ‘Crystals’ of space-time could be the origins of certain rare black holes, theoretical study hints |
By taking general relativity into higher dimensions, a trio of physicists has proven that a mathematical pattern of ripples in space-time geometry could give rise to naked singularities and microscopic black holes. Read more.
| ‘The best solution is to murder him in his sleep’: AI can learn violent tendencies from each other despite zero references to violence in training data |
Scientists found that AI models can inherit a taste for murder (or owls) from other models’ training data. Read more.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Mexico City, Mexico
A woman holds up a replica of the World Cup trophy before the start of a Guinness world record attempt for the largest Mexican wave
Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Chlum, Czech Republic
Enthusiasts dressed as characters from The Hobbit take part in a battle
Photograph: Martin Divíšek/EPA
Turin, Italy
Roberto Bolle, an Italian dancer, leads the world’s largest ballet barre class, open to dancers from all Italian dance schools, united by a strict all-white dress code, in Piazza San Carlo
Photograph: Daniele Solavaggione/LaPresse/Shutterstock
Market Closes for June 8th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
50786.01 | -80.77 |
| -0.16% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7405.73 | +21.99 |
| +0.30% | ||
| NASDAQ | 25929.66 | +220.23 |
| +0.86% | ||
| TSX | 34478.74 | +65.29
+0.19% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 64024.60 | -2563.52 |
| -3.85% | ||
| HANG SENG |
24657.06 | -304.89 |
| -1.22% | ||
| SEN SEX | 73524.26 | -719.08 |
| -0.97% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10373.20 | +5.15 |
| +0.05% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.531 | 3.472 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.909 | 3.833 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.5622 | 4.5303 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
5.0353 | 4.9957 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7167 | 0.7176 |
| US $ |
1.3952 | 1.3934 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6213 | 1.6093 |
| US $ |
0.8670 | 1.1534 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4365.15 | 4496.95 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 91.30 | 90.54 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1955,Tim Berners-Lee, future inventor of the World Wide Web, was born in London, England. He is the son of two designers of the Ferranti Mark I, an early commercial computer.
🍨Canada 🏖
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2% at 34,478.52 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 2.3%.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.1%.
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 7.0%.
Today, 118 of 221 shares rose, while 100 fell; 3 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5.2%
* The index advanced 30% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.3% below its 52-week high on June 4, 2026 and 31% above its low on June 9, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.7% in the past 5 days and rose 1.2% 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 16.4 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$5.43t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.01% compared with 15.04% in the previous session and the average of 12.84% over the past month
Index Points
Financials | 49.6239| 0.4| 14/10
Energy | 30.7129| 0.5| 30/7
Information Technology | 27.6383| 1.1| 3/6
Materials | -1.0785| 0.0| 43/17
Health Care | -1.5249| -1.6| 0/4
Real Estate | -2.6292| -0.5| 5/13
Communication Services | -3.4009| -0.5| 2/3
Industrials | -5.4692| -0.2| 12/16
Consumer Discretionary | -7.0201| -0.6| 4/5
Utilities | -10.3235| -0.8| 4/10
Consumer Staples | -14.3790| -1.3| 1/9
TD Bank | 20.3400| 1.1| -18.9| 23.3
RBC | 19.8700| 0.8| -24.4| 16.5
Shopify | 15.9700| 1.2| -17.0| -30.0
Franco-Nevada | -7.0620| -1.7| -18.1| 5.2
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -7.0880| -0.9| 87.6| -2.9
Enbridge | -20.0200| -1.7| -12.1| 17.6
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher on Monday, recovering some of Friday’s 804-point drop as strength in energy, financial and base metals stocks offset weakness in battery metals and defensive sectors, while investors weighed rising oil prices, inflation concerns and expectations the Bank of Canada will leave interest rates unchanged this week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 65.29 points, or 0.19%, to 34,478.74, with sectors mixed.
Battery Metals Index led decliners , down 12.33%, while Health Care, Telecom, Utilities and Industrials were down 2.27%, 0.42%, 0.83%, and 0.15%, respectively.
Energy led gainers, up 1.63%, with Financial, up 0.42%, Information and Technology, up 0.88%, and the Base Metals, up 1.13%.
In commodities, gold fell to a fresh five-month low as rising oil prices fueled concerns that higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated and pressure central banks to raise interest rates.
Gold for June delivery was last down US$5.00 at US$4,360.30 an ounce, while Saxo Bank said renewed tensions in the Middle East and a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report had reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates in 2026.
However, oil prices rose as renewed hostilities between Iran and Israel heightened concerns over global crude supplies, although gains eased after reports the two sides had agreed to halt further attacks.
WTI crude settled up US$0.76 at US$91.30 a barrel after earlier climbing as high as US$95.47, while Brent crude rose US$1.13 to US$94.22.
Market participants continued to monitor the impact of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for global oil shipments, with reports noted that supply risks are overshadowing OPEC+’s planned production increases.
Against that backdrop, National Bank said the BoC should consider publishing an unemployment-rate forecast as part of its quarterly Monetary Policy Report, mentioning that labor market conditions are central to the inflation outlook and the future path of interest rates.
The bank noted that the monthly Labour Force Survey remains the most closely watched Canadian economic release for bond markets, as employment and unemployment data help investors gauge inflation pressures and recalibrate expectations for monetary policy.
It added that publishing unemployment-rate projections, alongside an estimate of the economy’s trend or natural unemployment rate, would improve market understanding of how the central bank is likely to pursue its price-stability mandate.
Meanwhile, CIBC said Canada’s efforts to reduce its reliance on the U.S. economy through trade diversification have yielded only modest results despite recent progress.
The bank noted that Canada has 15 free-trade agreements covering 51 countries and more than 61% of global GDP, but the impact on export diversification has been limited.
CIBC said the share of Canadian exports destined for the United States has fallen to 69% over the past 12 months from 76% in 2024, with demand from China and Europe helping offset some of the decline.
The lender added that despite ongoing trade tensions, Canada’s long-term economic alignment is likely to remain with the United States.
Looking ahead, National Bank said the BoC is expected to leave its overnight target unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday.
This would mark the fifth consecutive hold after policymakers first declared in October that policy is at "about the right level" to keep inflation near target and support the economy’s transition, noted the bank.
There is little in the data to justify a more hawkish shift from the BoC at its Wednesday policy meeting, said ING.
April inflation undershot expectations with the headline consumer price index rising more modestly than feared to 2.8% year over year from 2.4%, the market consensus had been 3.1%, while core inflation surprisingly slowed.
Meanwhile, the labor market has been mixed, noted the bank.
Despite the gain in employment data on Friday, UBS said the BoC considers this in the broader trend of a "soggy" labor market.
A flat four-month moving average in employment growth, even with Friday’s strong gain in May, suggests the BoC would need to see a sustained improvement rather than just this
one-month gain before this would tip the balance, stated UBS.
This also has to be framed alongside disappointing growth in Q1, writes the bank in a note to clients.
Additionally, the federal government on Monday offered loans to airlines struggling to cope with the soaring price of jet fuel, as Iran war forced them to cut flight schedules and curtail profit forecasts, reported The Canadian Press.
The new program will let carriers borrow up to $150 million each, said Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
"By building on existing relief measures with targeted and temporary support for Canada’s airline sector, we are helping maintain connectivity, protect Canadian jobs and reduce pressures on travelers during this period of elevated fuel costs," Champagne said in a news release.
Besides, s new report pointed out Canada could be poised for a slower-than-usual summer rental market as average asking rents for May were down approximately $100 from a year earlier, reported CP.
The latest monthly analysis from Rentals.ca and Urbanation finds the average asking rent for May was down 4.7 per cent year-over-year to $2,029, marking the 20th consecutive annual decline, it added.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street staged a comeback as dip buyers emerged, lifting stocks amid renewed enthusiasm over artificial intelligence and bets that a solid economy will keep powering Corporate America.
The high-profile group of chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. paced gains in equities, climbing 5.6% after the biggest selloff since 2020.
Their rebound was enough for the S&P 500 to resume its advance from war-fueled lows, though most of the gauge’s companies fell.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.6%.
Apple Inc. investors gave a tepid reception to the next generation of its AI platform, with the shares dropping 1.9%.
Following a brief pause in the rally that drove stocks to a series of all-time highs, momentum-chasing traders returned, energizing bets the bull market is nowhere near its end.
Also helping sentiment was the fact that oil pared its surge as Iran and Israel pledged to ease strikes that threatened peace talks.
The positioning-driven rout in equities at the end of last week was a “healthy reset,” according to Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, who maintained his constructive outlook, supported by earnings and strong economic data.
“Markets rarely move in a straight line at the pace seen since the March lows,” he said.
“A correction was inevitable and ultimately healthy if this bull market is going to extend into year-end, which remains our baseline with an 8,000 S&P 500 target.”
The gauge closed slightly above 7,400.
His optimism was echoed by Citigroup Inc. strategists led by Scott Chronert, who raised their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 8,100 from 7,700, after a “big step up” in earnings expectations.
“We do not expect investors to lose confidence in the AI outlook,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“Although tech stocks have come under pressure in recent days amid concerns about whether expectations can be met, business fundamentals remain strong.”
Haefele also noted that markets continue to overstate the “hawkishness” of top central banks.
In his view, the risk of a Federal Reserve rate hike remains low, and despite the increase in jobs, he bets policymakers are likely to be reassured by the slowing of wage growth.
After Friday’s blowout payrolls report, the focus shifted back to inflation.
The May consumer price index due Wednesday is expected to jump by 4.2% from a year earlier — the highest rate in more than three years.
But the core CPI is seen cooling slightly on a monthly basis — potentially providing a welcome signal to Fed officials.
The question is whether the market resilience can hold as investors digest inflation data and a wave of high-profile IPOs and equity offerings, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
They could provide an important test of whether traders are rotating capital into new opportunities or becoming more cautious on risk assets, he added.
Corporate Highlights:
* SpaceX’s initial public offering is well oversubscribed, according to people familiar with the matter, as demand builds for a potentially record-setting debut.
* Amazon.com Inc. is set to sell C$14 billion ($10 billion) of investment-grade bonds, the largest corporate bond offering on record in the currency, in a deal that drew around twice that amount in demand.
* Ciena Corp. is planning to raise $2 billion by issuing debt that can be converted into shares, joining the ranks of companies capitalizing on the demand from a massive buildout of AI infrastructure.
* Intel Corp. surged after the Information reported that Alphabet Inc.’s Google will rely on it for more than 3 million specialized AI chips in 2028.
* Marvell Technology Inc. and Flex Ltd. will join the S&P 500 in the latest quarterly rebalance, replacing Pool Corp. and Campbell’s Co. before the start of trading on June 22.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“S&P 500 history suggests it takes a confluence of valuation, tightened financial conditions and economic weakness to tip the balance of a bull market.”
—Edward Harrison, 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 rose 1.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1531
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3341
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 160.22 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.4% to $63,325.82
* Ether rose 3.5% to $1,685.43
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.57%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.06%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.94%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $91.42 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. -Carl Jung, 1875-1961.
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