Dear Friends,
Tangents: Johnny Appleseed Day.
March 11, 2002: Two columns of light soared skyward from ground zero in New York as a temporary memorial to the victims six months after the Sept. 11 attacks. Go to article.
March 11, 2011: The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami strike Japan, triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster and reshaping global energy risk debates.
1818: Start of the flu pandemic.
Robert Paine, revolutionary, b. 1731.
Lawrence Welk, bandleader, b. 1903.
Pause for Poetry:
To Daffodils
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain’d his noon.
Stay, stay,
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even-song;
And, having pray’d together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you,
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die
As your hours do, and dry
Away,
Like to the summer’s rain;
Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,
Ne’er to be found again.
Robet Herrick (1591-1674)
Flying saucers files
Last month, Trump vowed to release government files on aliens and UFOs. But nothing so far has surfaced, underscoring how complicated such disclosures can be.
Supercar fleet
Take a look inside a rare auction with cars worth tens of millions of dollars that belong to an alleged international crime kingpin.
| Single protein could dramatically alter trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease |
In people destined to get Alzheimer’s in their mid-40s, one protein can delay the onset of the disease by about 20 years. Read More.
| Pre-Inca culture acquired Amazonian parrots from hundreds of miles away to use their feathers to decorate the dead, new analysis reveals |
Centuries before the Inca emerged, Amazonian parrots were carried alive across the Andes and raised in captivity on Peru’s coast for their vibrant feathers. Read More.
| Falling meteorite smashes hole in roof of German house after spectacular ‘fireball’ explosion over Europe |
A German town has been peppered by meteorites after a stunning "fireball" exploded in the skies over central Europe. One extraterrestrial fragment landed in a bedroom after punching a soccer ball-size hole through the building’s roof. Read More.
| Why aren’t mammals as colorful as reptiles, birds or fish? |
Many mammals have fur the color of brown and black. Why don’t they have more exotic colors, like purple and neon pink? Read More.
| 1,300-pound spacecraft crashed to Earth yesterday following intense solar activity |
NASA’s Van Allen Probe A fell to Earth much sooner than expected, though the spacecraft’s reentry posed a low risk to humans. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Montafon, Austria
Marshalls inspect the site of the men’s qualification run for the FIS Ski Cross World Cup
Photograph: Action Press/Shutterstock
London, England
A member of the Serpentine North Gallery staff walks past a mural by the British artist David Hockney, which forms part of an exhibition of his work entitled A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts About Painting
Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA
Hangzhou, China
Visitors make their way through the city’s West Lake park
Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Market Closes for March 11th , 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
47417.27 | -289.24 |
| -0.61% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6775.80 | -5.68 |
| -0.08% | ||
| NASDAQ | 22716.13 | +19.03 |
| +0.08% | ||
| TSX | 33119.83 | -150.82 |
| -0.45% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 55025.37 | +776.98 |
| +1.43% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25898.76 | -61.14 |
| -0.24% | ||
| SEN SEX | 76863.71 | -1342.27 |
| -1.72% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10353.77 | -58.47 |
| -0.56% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.484 | 3.400 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.934 | 3.853 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.2296 | 4.1557 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8785 | 4.7903 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7354 | 0.7362 |
| US $ |
1.3596 | 1.3582 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6366 | 1.5706 |
| US $ |
0.8657 | 1.1550 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
5209.70 | 5086.35 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 87.25 | 86.66 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the Covid-19 virus was a pandemic. The stock market was way ahead of the WHO and was already in freefall. The S&P 500 lost more than a third of its value in just weeks.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5% at 33,119.83 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 132 of 217 shares fell, while 85 rose.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 8.1%.
Goeasy Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 18.2%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.4%
* The index advanced 37% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.1% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 49% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.4% in the past 5 days and fell 0.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.6 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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$5.26t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 20.54% compared with 20.51% in the previous session and the average of 18.82% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | -71.6192| -1.0| 13/43
Financials | -47.8068| -0.5| 5/19
Information Technology | -40.1315| -1.6| 3/7
Consumer Staples | -17.1826| -1.5| 1/9
Communication Services | -11.3083| -1.7| 1/4
Consumer Discretionary | -7.7688| -0.7| 4/5
Real Estate | -4.7282| -1.0| 5/14
Industrials | -2.6099| -0.1| 15/14
Health Care | 1.4944| 1.8| 3/1
Utilities | 2.9194| 0.2| 7/7
Energy | 47.9192| 0.8| 28/9
Constellation Software | -33.2400| -8.1| -8.1| -18.2
Brookfield Corp | -23.2500| -2.7| 4.2| -12.6
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -20.8000| -1.9| 19.8| 30.0
Cenovus | 13.5600| 4.6| 88.5| 38.6
Nutrien | 14.5300| 4.2| 30.6| 27.1
Canadian Natural Resources | 30.1500| 3.3| 84.8| 38.1
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Wednesday, the first drop of the week, as investors took their focus off the war on Iran and back to market fundamentals, including the valuations on Information Technology stocks, with that sector the biggest loser in Canada today.
The S&P/TSX Composite index closed down 150.82 points, or 0.45%, to 33,119.83, giving up the bulk of the 190 points gained over the last two sessions, even with most sectors higher, including both Energy and Base Metals.
The Energy sector rose 2.6% as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose following a day-prior plunge even as members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400-million barrels of strategic reserves to the market amid doubts that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will resume any time soon as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues.
WTI oil for April delivery closed up US$3.80 to settle at US$87.25 per barrel after dropping 12% a day earlier.
May Brent oil was up US$4.53 to US$92.33.
The Canadian Press cited Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson saying Wednesday Canada will "do its part" to lower the cost of oil globally as a bloc of nations looks to tame the surge in energy prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Base Metals was up 0.55% although gold traded lower Wednesday as the dollar rose after a U.S. inflation measure rose in line with expectations in February, lowering hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
Gold for April delivery was last seen down $52.70 to US$5,189.40 per ounce.
Information Technology was down 2.8%.
Within that sector, Celestica (CLS.TO, CLS) lost 1.1%, but CIBC still remains bullish on that stock with an AI infrastructure cycle platform.
CIBC Capital Markets, in a ‘Beyond The Headlines’ report, assessed hyperscaler AI data center spending, its potential to grow and how Celestica can continue to grow faster than the underlying market supported by its leadership in high-speed networking and supplying AI/ML compute, including leading edge custom deployments such as GOOG’s Tensor Processor Units (TPUs) or custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
The bank cut its price target on Celestica shares to US$360 from US$400 reflecting a lower-multiple environments rather than any deterioration in fundamentals.
It has an Outperformer recommendation on the stock.
"Our work suggests that Celestica’s guidance and consensus estimates remain conservative, despite improving visibility into capital spending plans at Google, Amazon, and OpenAI.
We expect estimates to move higher through 2026 as program ramps, expansions, and capex expectations continue to be revised upward," CIBC said.
CIBC’s scenario analysis indicates the current share price implies 2026 revenue near 7% above and 2027 revenue near 15% above FactSet estimates.
For context, the bank said, Celestica exceeded its own guidance by about 19% in 2025, highlighting management’s historical conservatism.
CIBC believes the market is understating the earnings power embedded in Celestica’s existing customer base and the optionality from new programs.
The bank’s upside scenario captures this potential from: greater networking switch demand within AI data centers than FactSet’s consensus estimate assumes, particularly in back-end architectures; durable 800G switch ramps along with the onset of multiple 1.6T switch program ramps beginning in the second half of 2026 and into 2027; expansion potential of existing programs with large customers and optionality from new wins supporting a path towards an upside scenario; and operating leverage, which the bank believes will outweigh near term margin mix concerns tied to server exposure.
CIBC’s downside scenario assumes AI data center capex peaks in 2027, followed by a material decline.
"While this risk cannot be dismissed, current demand signals and visibility into customer spending plans suggest the probability of this outcome remains low in the near term," it said.
The bank believes Celestica is well positioned to outperform expectations through the AI infrastructure cycle.
"As visibility improves and estimates reset higher, we see scope for the shares to re-rate over the course of 2026," it added.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders hit by geopolitical worries kept a lid on stocks and bonds, with oil jumping as a move from rich nations to deploy stockpiles was considered just a reprieve amid the war in Iran.
US crude topped $87 despite the International Energy Agency’s approval of its largest-ever release of emergency reserves.
Relatively tame inflation data from before the outbreak of the conflict failed to boost equity sentiment, with the S&P 500 wavering.
Treasuries dropped, leaving traders anticipating the Federal Reserve will cut rates only once this year.
President Donald Trump said he didn’t believe Iran was laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and repeated his suggestion the war would end soon.
Iran has told regional intermediaries that for a ceasefire, the US must guarantee neither it nor Israel will strike the country in the future, according to officials familiar with the matter.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is aware of the potential for drone strikes in his state, after a report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning Iran could be considering launching offensive drones against the West Coast.
Trump is preparing to invoke Cold War-era powers to pave the way for renewed oil production off the southern California coast to help ease the energy crunch.
Meantime, the IEA agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves.
“Despite the prospect of releasing oil reserves, continued uncertainty translates into continued upside risk for oil prices, and that translates into a Fed that will remain cautious about cutting interest rates,” said Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Underlying US inflation slowed in February from a month earlier, offering some relief from price pressures before the war with Iran.
But renewed concerns from the conflict – which has boosted energy costs – risk amplifying affordability worries.
“February’s inflation numbers were heading in the right direction, but then along came the conflict in the Middle East, and now the path is changing,” said Brian Jacobsen at Annex Wealth Management.
The S&P 500 was little changed.
The yield on 10-year.
Treasuries rose six basis points to 4.22%.
While investors are far more focused on how the conflict in Iran feeds into inflation over the months ahead, the latest data offers some reassurance that price pressures were not moving in the wrong direction before the recent energy shock, said Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management.
“The Fed has historically looked through energy‑driven price spikes,” she noted.
“But with inflation having sat above target for almost five years, it may be harder to do so this time.”
Her base-case remains two rate cuts in the second half of the year, though that outlook would be at risk if energy prices remain high and the conflict drags on.
The Fed will likely resume cutting rates as soon as June, though there’s a risk the next move may be delayed by the oil- price shock caused by the war, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Gapen.
Data out Friday will likely paint a picture of more stubborn inflation.
Economists see the Fed’s favored core personal consumption expenditures price index up 0.4% again in January.
Compared with the same month last year, the median forecast calls for a 3.1% increase.
Corporate Highlights:
* Oracle Corp. soared after reporting strong sales and issuing an outlook that suggests little letup in demand for AI computing.
* Nvidia Corp. will invest $2 billion in Nebius Group NV as part of a strategic partnership to develop and build AI data centers.
* Salesforce Inc. drew lukewarm demand for its $25 billion bond sale amid concerns over its debt-funded share buyback and worries about software companies’ AI exposure.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. is restricting some lending to private credit funds after marking down the value of certain loans in their portfolios.
* A cyberattack against medical technology maker Stryker Corp. crippled its global operations, according to a person familiar with the matter and a memo seen by Bloomberg News.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Until commercial shipping resumes at scale, the global backdrop — from crude to equities and FX — will remain at the mercy of the boats.”
—Brendan Fagan, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1573
* The British pound was unchanged at $1.3418
* The Japanese yen fell 0.6% to 158.95 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $70,644.88
* Ether rose 1.6% to $2,076.47
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.22%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 2.93%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 13 basis points to 4.69%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5.4% to $87.97 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $5,183.63 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Nature created us related to each other, from the same material, for the same purpose.
Because of this, somewhere within all of us is mutual love for each other. –Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c.4 BC-65 AD.
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