Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carolann is away from the office for a few days this week, attending an investment conference in NYC.

May 13,1607 – English settlers arrive at Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. National Park Service
May 13,1983 – First mobile phone network trials expand modern personal communication era (early telecom milestone period) .britannica.com
May 13,1995 – American swimmer Alison Hargreaves becomes the first woman to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen or sherpas. theguardian

Harvey Keitel, actor, b. 1939.
Stevie Wonder, musician, b. 1950.
Dennis Rodman, basketball player, b. 1961.
Robert Pattinson, actor, b. 1986.

Ancient Neanderthal dentistry discovered
Scientists found evidence that Neanderthals may have used a stone drill on a tooth ~60,000 years ago — possibly the oldest known form of dentistry.

Homo erectus genetic material sequenced for first time
Researchers analyzed ancient remains and uncovered genetic signals showing unexpected deep links between Homo erectus and modern humans.

Hidden ancient stars may reveal a swallowed galaxy (“Loki”)
Astronomers identified unusual stars in the Milky Way that may be remnants of a long-ago galaxy merger.

Pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, emerging research suggests

A growing body of research is showing how long-term exposure to air pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, raising new concerns about the unseen toll of dirty air.

I spent years staring at the jellyfish lake on my screensaver. The reality was something else

Even though I’m wearing a snorkel mask, I’m holding my breath. Slowly, the blob floats closer and closer before suddenly puffing up like a balloon. The water is swirling in its tiny wake and the sun glowing above us.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Caldera Galaxy Panorama

This panorama was captured at the highest point of the volcanic island of La Palma, a location defined by its unique terrain and exceptional night sky conditions. The lack of ambient light made the process more demanding, requiring extensive focus stacking to achieve sharpness across the entire scene, but it also provided ideal conditions for astrophotography.
Photograph: Max Terwindt

counting mountain gorillas in Uganda
A dense canopy of ancient trees stretches across the steep ridges of Bwindi Impenetrable national park, one of Africa’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests sheltering more than 400 species of plants and nearly half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. Layers of mist cling to the valleys each morning, earning Bwindi its name – ‘the place of darkness’
National Geographic photographer and WWF ambassador Jasper Doest joined conservation teams during the latest mountain gorilla census in Bwindi Impenetrable national park, taking pictures of the apes and the people

Fátima, Portugal

The statue of Our Lady of Fátima is carried through the crowd during the procession of candles, the highlight of celebrations at the Catholic shrine
Photograph: Armando França/AP

Market Closes for May 13th, 2026

International Markets

Bonds

Commodities

Market Commentary:

On this day in 1999, Barbie went high-tech as Mattel acquired educational-software maker the Learning Co. After only 16 months, Mattel sold it for no cash up front and an undisclosed cut of future profits. Mattel lost about $4 billion on the acquisition.
🍒Canada🍓
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.7% at 34,041.43 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest loss since May 4 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.5%.
Boyd Group Inc. had the largest drop, falling 12.0%.
Today, 143 of 220 shares fell, while 76 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights

* The index advanced 33% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.5% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 33.2% above its low on May 14, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 0.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.3 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$5.42t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.64% compared with 11.42% in the previous session and the average of 15.58% over the past month
Index Points
Financials | -119.5548| -1.1| 4/20
Information Technology| -53.5928| -2.4| 1/8
Industrials | -30.2644| -0.9| 11/18
Consumer Discretionary| -16.9022| -1.6| 3/6
Materials | -15.8067| -0.2| 26/33
Consumer Staples | -7.7423| -0.7| 2/8
Real Estate | -4.3369| -0.9| 3/16
Communication Services| -3.6647| -0.6| 1/4
Energy | -0.3625| 0.0| 13/24
Health Care | 0.3109| 0.3| 3/1
Utilities | 2.6415| 0.2| 9/5
Shopify | -52.8900| -4.5| 68.0| -40.9
RBC | -29.7600| -1.2| 22.2| 5.5
TD Bank | -16.8100| -1.0| -49.7| 13.0
Enbridge | 8.0980| 0.7| 21.7| 15.3
TC Energy | 8.2350| 1.2| -69.0| 21.7
Constellation Software | 8.7230| 2.6| 15.5| -25.3
Finning International| 8.7| 7.6960| 113.9| 41.1
AbraSilver Resource Corp | 7.5| 1.4890| 21.6| 78.1
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange slumped Wednesday as the Iran war’s impact on oil prices and the ongoing uncertainty around the Trump Administration’s trade policies continue to weigh, even if Canadian investors appear to be positive on domestic market fundamentals.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 249. points to 34,041.43, falling for the first of four sessions, even with sectors mixed and with the Battery Metals Index, up 4.4%.
Base Metals was up 1.5% as gold edged higher by midafternoon Wednesday even as the dollar rose after a report showed U.S. wholesale inflation surged in April.
Gold for June delivery was up US$17.90 to US$4,704.60 per ounce.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil closing lower, although it did stick above US$100, as the loss of Persian Gulf supply since the start of the war on Iran cuts into stocks, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) reporting a record draw down in inventories since the conflict began.
WTI crude oil for June delivery closed down US$1.02 to settle US$101.02 per barrel, while July Brent oil was down US$1.98 to US$105.79.
Reflecting a view that the outlook for markets in Canada is largely conditional on external matters, Tiago Figueiredo, a Macro Strategist at Desjardins, said the April summary of monetary policy deliberations by the Bank of Canada for the policy decisions announced two weeks earlier "underscored a conditional policy stance", with the Governing Council prepared to look through energy-driven inflation so long as broader price pressures remain contained.
Governing Council was much more explicit their reaction function would be conditional on the trajectory of oil prices and developments on U.S. trade policy, he added.
In the base case, members judged that a policy rate close to current levels would likely remain appropriate, Figueiredo noted.
"Central bankers agreed that they had the scope to be patient for now, but the situation could change quickly, and they would need to be nimble in their response to events.
This assessment is broadly in line with our view that, although uncertainty is elevated, the most likely path forward is that policymakers remain on hold this year," he said.
Meanwhile, an RBC Economics ‘Insight’ said Canadian consumers have proven "remarkably resilient" over the past year despite trade wars, immigration cuts, and persistent economic uncertainty.
"Household spending remained a steady engine of growth with RBC cardholder transactions suggesting that resilience extended into Q1 2026 even as a significant new shock hit the economy — at gas pumps," the bank added.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in technology giants drove stocks to all-time highs, overshadowing data showing a resurgence in inflation that fueled wagers the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer.
Megacaps led gains in the S&P 500, with the chiefs from Nvidia Corp., Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. joining President Donald Trump’s business delegation to China.
A drop in oil also helped sentiment.
A $25 billion sale of 30-year bonds saw investors snagging 5% yields on those maturities for the first time since 2007.
In late hours, Cisco Systems Inc. gave a solid outlook.
The six-week surge in equities to a series of records is defying concerns about the economic fallout of the war in Iran.
Stocks can rally further as a recovery in earnings and still-low positioning outweigh the threat from higher bond yields, said Max Kettner at HSBC Holdings Plc.
Morgan Stanley strategists are turning more positive on US equities in a bet that profits and a strong economy will keep the bull market running.
The team led by Mike Wilson expects the S&P 500 to reach 8,300 in the next 12 months.
The gauge is currently trading near 7,444.
“Resiliency in earnings data despite geopolitical risk, private credit concerns and AI disruption is supportive of our view,” he said.
Meantime, back-to-back inflation reports this week showed mounting price pressures, pushing traders to boost wagers on a Fed hike in the coming year.
The producer price index rose 6% in April from a year ago, topping all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The monthly gain was also the sharpest since 2022.
The core gauge climbed 5.2% from April 2025 — the most in more than three years.
“Wednesday’s PPI was strikingly elevated as producers are feeling the ripple effects of $100 per barrel oil,” said Clark Bellin at Bellwether Wealth.
“The Federal Reserve has an inflation problem on its hands.”
Several components of the PPI are of particular interest as they feed into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index.
The flip side is that increases in components feeding into the PCE deflator were modest by comparison to pressure elsewhere, said Gary Schlossberg at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
“One takeaway is that companies are not passing through costs to consumers across the board just yet,” noted Chris Low at FHN Financial.
“But company input costs are sharply higher, which obviously increases pressure to pass through costs in future.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Elon Musk’s xAI has recruited multiple Wall Street firms with ties to the billionaire’s business empire to test its Grok chatbot, according to people familiar with the matter, part of a push to bolster revenue ahead of parent company SpaceX’s initial public offering.
* Anthropic PBC is in early talks with investors to raise at least $30 billion in fresh financing, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for what could be its largest funding round yet.
* Ford Motor Co. jumped after Morgan Stanley issued a bullish call that the automaker’s energy storage business could soon make a deal with hyperscalers.
* Transformative events like the Iran conflict and the rise of artificial intelligence are creating increased demand for Honeywell International Inc.’s products ahead of its split later this month, according to the company’s chief executive officer.
* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. Reported revenue that fell short of estimates, signaling the challenges in translating higher spending on AI into faster growth.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“If rates rise further as traders expect, the burden of higher borrowing costs is likely to be the biggest for assets that have seen the most spectacular rallies.”
—Kristine Aquino, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1709
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3521
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 157.87 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.3% to $79,619.9
* Ether fell 1.2% to $2,256.49
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.47%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.10%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 5.06%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.98%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 5.04%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $101.40 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,686.40 an ounce

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Shima

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."– Leonardo Da Vinci-1452 -1519

Shima Zangeneh

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

340A – 730 View Street

Victoria BC V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5851

Fax: 778-430-5828