Dear Friends,
Tangents:
June 9, 721: Odo of Aquitaine defeats a Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse, halting Arab expansion in Western Europe.
June 9, 1898: Hing Kong lease signed from Britain.
June 9, 1986: The Rogers Commission released its report on the Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. Go to article.
Cole Porter, composer, b. 1891.
Donald Duck, cartoon, b. 1934.
Johnny Depp, actor, b. 1963.
Bears prompt school closures in Japan
Talk about an unexpected disruption. One Japanese city has closed nearly 100 schools as bear sightings and post-hibernation attacks increase.
A win against allergies
Introducing eggs earlier in infancy may help reduce childhood egg allergies, a new study suggests.
Bitcoin loses its luster as traders chase AI wave
Since hitting a record high of $126,000 last fall, bitcoin has dropped to just above $60,000 amid waves of selling.
Video: The growing market for Christian energy drinks
The power of Christ compels … a caffeine boost.
Great white shark captured on video in the Mediterranean
Oh, perfect — an apex predator has joined us for peak vacation season. Cue the unmistakable theme music.
The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
| Sea ice loss in the Arctic has triggered a critical tipping point that’s destroying the food chain |
Researchers say the Arctic Ocean crossed a biological tipping point in 2009, when nitrate levels in the water suddenly started dropping due to a drastic reduction in sea ice extent. Read more.
| Thanks to natural selection, Indigenous Andeans may digest potatoes better than anyone else in the world, study finds |
After domesticating potatoes 10,000 years ago, the ancient people of the Andes evolved to have more copies of a key gene involved in digesting starch. Read more.
| Venus and Jupiter are about to almost touch in the sky in one of 2026’s best skywatching events |
A close conjunction of the two brightest planets in the night sky will take place over several evenings, with the best time to look being June 9-11. Read more.
| AI could consume up to 3% of world’s electricity, the UN warns |
AI could soon use more water than we need to drink, UN report finds. Read more.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Hygrocybe Firma
Hygrocybe firma is a fungus whose very small, red sporing bodies appear in Tasmanian forests in autumn. It has a biotrophic relationship with surrounding vegetation, where the mycelium lives inside or in close contact with plant roots. The red colour pops amid the forest greens, often making for lovely colour compositions.
Photograph: Charlie Chadwick
Utsunomiya, Japan
Police officers search for a black bear spotted in residential area
Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
In the mane: one of the last wild horse herds on the European continent is driven once a year into an arena near their nature reserve in Dülmen, Germany, to catch the young stallions in order to secure the future of the centuries-old herd
Photograph: Martin Meissner/AP
Market Closes for June 9th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
50872.11 | +86.10 |
| +0.17% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7386.65 | -19.08 |
| -0.26% | ||
| NASDAQ | 25678.82 | -250.84 |
| -0.97% | ||
| TSX | 34411.69 | -67.05
-0.19% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 65416.63 | +1392.03 |
| +2.17% | ||
| HANG SENG |
24565.90 | -91.16 |
| -0.37% | ||
| SEN SEX | 73918.76 | +394.50 |
| +0.54% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10227.33 | -145.87 |
| -1.41% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.487 | 3.531 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.877 | 3.909 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.5165 | 4.5622 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.9967 | 5.0353 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7169 | 0.7167 |
| US $ |
1.3950 | 1.3952 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6212 | 1.6099 |
| US $ |
0.8665 | 1.1540 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4320.60 | 4365.15 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 88.20 | 91.30 |
Market Commentary:
On this date in 1943, U.S. paychecks went on a sudden diet as federal income tax withholding was implemented. Originally proposed by Beardsley Ruml, an executive at Macy’s department store who encouraged shoppers to buy on the installment plan, withholding was cleverly called “pay as you go.”
👒Canada 🏖
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2% at 34,411.69 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since May 21 after the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5%.
5N Plus Inc. had the largest drop, falling 9.7%.
Today, 118 of 221 shares fell, while 102 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5%
* 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 2.5% below its 52-week high on June 4, 2026 and 30.7% above its low on June 9, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.2% in the past 5 days and rose 1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.2 on a trailing basis and 16.2 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$5.43t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.85% compared with 15.01% in the previous session and the average of 12.91% over the past month
Index Points
Energy | -115.8988| -1.9| 3/34
Materials | -98.2253| -1.7| 10/50
Information Technology| -23.2465| -0.9| 3/6
Health Care | -0.7123| -0.8| 2/2
Communication Services| 3.6105| 0.6| 5/0
Utilities | 3.9336| 0.3| 7/7
Real Estate | 8.0704| 1.7| 19/0
Consumer Discretionary| 8.0906| 0.7| 5/4
Industrials | 12.4982| 0.3| 18/11
Consumer Staples | 17.2182| 1.6| 10/0
Financials | 114.6539| 1.0| 20/4
Canadian Natural Resources | -33.2400| -3.5| 47.6| 34.2
Suncor | -23.4200| -3.2| 18.5| 40.1
Celestica | -17.9700| -4.2| 14.9| 27.1
CIBC | 10.2800| 1.0| -28.6| 24.2
Brookfield Corp | 27.1700| 2.9| -16.2| 0.7
RBC | 33.0900| 1.2| -26.9| 18.0
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange slumped Tuesday as a sharp decline in oil prices weighed on energy shares, while investors assessed mixed economic data, a wider Canadian trade surplus and the outlook for the Bank of Canada’s interest-rate decision coming tomorrow.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 67.05 points, or 0.19%, to 34,411.69, with sectors mixed over Tuesday’s session.
Energy led decliners, down 3.13%, while Health Care, Information and Technology, and the Base Metals were down 0.60%, 1.17%, and 0.54%, respectively.
Battery Metals Index led gainers, up 1.53%, with Financial, up 0.97%, Utilities, up 0.32%, Industrials, up 0.35%, and Telecom, up 0.45%.
In commodities, gold fell to at a six-month low on Tuesday even as the dollar weakened.
The precious metal for July delivery was last seen down US$74.00 to US$4.289.40 per ounce, the lowest since Dec. 10.
The price of the metal has dropped 7.7% over the past month as investors turn to the dollar to hedge against the threat of higher interest rates as inflation rises due to the high oil prices that have followed the U.S. war on Iran.
Meanwhile in oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell 3.4% on Tuesday on calming tensions in the Middle East as Iran and Israel ended their missile attacks and U.S. President Trump said negotiations to end the war on Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz are in their "final throes".
WTI crude oil for July delivery closed down US$3.10 to settle at US$88.20 per barrel, while August Brent oil was last seen down US$2.82 to US$91.43.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the world widened in April as exports outpaced imports.
It widened to $2.7 billion in April from $1.8 billion in March, as exports rose 1.6% month over month, while imports edged up 0.3% month over month, said the country’s statistical agency on Tuesday.
This was the second consecutive monthly trade surplus, and the largest since January 2025, wrote Statistics Canada in a statement.
The April surplus was roughly in line with a $2.50-billion consensus surplus provided by MUFG.
Exports of energy products rose 9.7% month over month in April.
This followed an increase of 23.4% in March.
Both monthly increases were driven by higher prices, which continued to rise in April amid the uncertainty caused by the conflict in Iran, the agency added.
The country’s expanding trade surplus is helped not only by higher oil prices but also by an increase in export volumes, said CIBC.
Total exports rose by 1.6% month over month, driven by energy products, food and autos.
Export growth would have been stronger were it not for a pullback in the volatile gold trade, stated CIBC.
Excluding the two volatile areas of energy and metal/non-metallic minerals, exports were up by 5.1% and total exports saw another solid increase in volume terms.
Total imports edged up slightly in both nominal and volume terms.
The solid increase in export volumes is positive for monthly and quarterly gross domestic product, although the strong advance estimate for April GDP will likely have already included most, if not all, of that information, added CIBC.
The further gain in export volumes at the start of Q2, following a solid rise in March, will mean that net trade should be a positive for quarterly GDP and support a rebound in economic activity following two marginal contractions, the lender added.
Recent trade data suggested that Canadian exports have largely recovered to pre-2025 levels, although still with some weakness in sectors hit hardest by United States tariffs. However, with tariff uncertainty remaining as CUSMA renegotiations drag on, further upward momentum will likely be limited in the near-term, CIBC noted.
Looking ahead to monetary policy, Rosenberg Research said the Bank of Canada is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 2.25% during Wednesday’s policy meeting, with markets continuing to price in one 25 basis points rate hike before year-end.
Besides the Canadian dollar) has been the weakest reserve currency in recent weeks, as Canada’s deteriorating real growth profile, unfavorable Canada-United States two-year spreads, and declining bullion prices weigh on the currency, said National Bank of Canada.
Full-time employment at a record high makes it hard to call Canada a recession story, but a sustained Canadian dollar rally will likely require Ottawa to secure a trade accord with the United States this summer, pointed out the bank.
Meanwhile, fresh industry data pointed to continued softness in consumer demand, with Canadian vehicle sales remaining below year-ago levels.
Canadian auto sales fell 0.6% month over month to 1.89 million units at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in May, based on data from Omdia, said Scotiabank.
The monthly selling rate has trended in the 1.85 million to 1.9 million annualized range since February, an improvement from the three months to January when sales averaged 1.75 million to 1.8 million but still below the two-million rate a year ago.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street drove a rotation out of technology giants, squelching a one-day rebound, with traders piling into a broader category of firms tuned to improving growth prospects.
Despite the weakness in the S&P 500’s most-influential group, the gauge trimmed most of an earlier slide as about 370 of its firms rose.
Chipmakers, which had powered the recovery from war-driven lows, swung violently.
The Nasdaq 100 lost 1.1%.
Oil pared its drop as President Donald Trump said the US must respond to Iran’s attack on an American helicopter, dimming hopes for a quick resolution to their conflict.
The renewed volatility in semiconductor giants comes after a surge that had put the group on track for its best year since 1999.
While the industry’s long-term outlook remains tied to a flood of spending on artificial intelligence, investors are increasingly questioning whether valuations can keep pace after one of the market’s most powerful advances.
“As much as we love to see tech’s leadership, it would be constructive to see this rally broaden out to other sectors,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro.
“When leadership is concentrated in one corner of tech, the market’s foundation gets a little wobblier.”
The recent whipsawing in tech is giving investors a taste of how quickly the tide may turn for the biggest winners should sentiment flip.
While pinpointing the volatility’s cause has been difficult, it’s occurring in high-valuation stocks ahead of massive new equity issuance, including SpaceX’s expected IPO pricing this week.
A flood of shares from companies seeking capital to fund AI ambitions is raising questions about whether demand will be sufficient to absorb the issuance and what the implications will be for broader valuations.
A deal of SpaceX’s size can be bullish over the long run if it reflects deep demand for innovation and new public-market opportunities, according to Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.
However, in the near term, large offerings also raise a basic funding question.
“Where does the money come from?” he said. “Some demand may come from cash. Some may come from new retail participation.
But institutional participation in a deal of this scale can also require trimming existing winners, particularly in areas where investors already have large gains.”
Upcoming mega-cap IPOs are “adrenaline” for a bull market hitting its prime, but they do not signal euphoria yet, according to Robert Edwards at Edwards Asset Management.
“We’re at the start of a frenzied buying spree worth riding,” he noted.
“True euphoria hits when everyone’s flipping the next IPO ‘wunderkind’ and bankers are rushing questionable, pre-revenue deals that suck up cash.
We’re still in the speculative phase, and the run toward euphoria is one you don’t want to miss.”
Corporate Highlights:
* SpaceX’s initial public offering has attracted demand from institutional investors for multiple times the available shares, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Elon Musk- led rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence firm’s debut gets closer.
* Anthropic PBC is widely releasing a version of Mythos that will be blocked from carrying out cybersecurity tasks, months after warning that the powerful AI model could spot and exploit vulnerabilities in critical software.
* Bank of America Corp.’s trading desk is seeing momentum gaining steam, with revenue trending higher than the 15% increase the bank forecast last month, according to co-President Jim DeMare.
* Vail Resorts Inc. cut its net income guidance for the full year, attributing the reduction to “historically challenging” weather conditions in the western US.
* GSK Plc agreed to buy Nuvalent Inc. for $10.6 billion, securing a US biotech firm developing treatments for lung cancer as part of the British pharmaceutical company’s effort to rebuild its oncology franchise.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“While Tuesday is not total risk-off yet, it sends a warning that the AI-momentum trade has lost its one-way nature as dip buyers remain cautious.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1542
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3380
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 160.41 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $61,917.71
* Ether fell 2.1% to $1,654.9
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.04%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.90%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.2% to $88.35 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 1.7% to $4,256.68 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself. –Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855.
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