Dear Friends,
Tangents: Rosh Hashanah.
September 23, 1846: Planet Neptune discovered; Johann Galle discovers the planet, confirming Le Verrier’s prediction and reshaping planetary science. Go to article.
On this day in 1998, Wall Street’s top investment banks, encouraged by the Federal Reserve, completed marathon negotiations for a bailout of the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.
Euripides, playwright, b. 480 BC
John Coltrane, musician, b. 1926.
Ray Charles, singer, b. 1930.
Julio Inglesias, singer, b. 1943.
Bruce Springteen, musician, b. 1949.
US blocks Iranian diplomats from shopping at Costco
Iranian officials visiting New York for the UN General Assembly are banned from shopping at Costco. Here’s why the wholesale clubs are off-limits.
American makes history at one of France’s top cheese competitions
Brie-lieve it or not, an American just took the top prize at one of France’s most prestigious cheese competitions.
Spider-Man had a bit of an accident
Actor Tom Holland plans to take a break from filming the latest “Spider-Man” movie after suffering a concussion.
Taxis for women only
Amid a rise in attacks on female cab drivers, a mother-daughter team has launched a women-only taxi service to rival rideshare apps like Uber.
Angelina Jolie says she loves America but doesn’t recognize it right now
“These are very, very heavy times we are living in together,” the Oscar-winning actress said about the country’s political climate.
400,000: That’s how many people officials are preparing to relocate from low-lying and coastal areas in China’s southern city of Shenzhen as Typhoon Ragasa barrels toward the region.
Harry Styles runs Berlin Marathon
Eagle-eyed fans spotted British pop star Harry Styles running the Berlin Marathon on Sunday! See the video here.
| ‘Cleopatra’s Final Secret’ documentary reveals hundreds of coins and port found in Egypt. But does that mean Cleopatra was buried there? |
Hundreds of coins that depict Cleopatra VII have been discovered in an Egyptian temple. The archaeologist who led the team believes the female pharaoh’s tomb is nearby. Read More.
| Soar through 44 million stars in Gaia telescope’s latest 3D map of our galaxy |
Scientists have used the Gaia Space Telescope to create a 3D map of star kindergartens within the Milky Way, and you can fly through it. Read More.
| Quantum internet inches closer thanks to new chip — it helps beam quantum signals over real-world fiber optic cables |
Researchers used the Q‑Chip to send quantum data over standard fiber using Internet Protocol (IP), showing that future quantum networks could run on today’s internet infrastructure. Read More.
| ‘Shocking’: Astronomers find monster black hole growing at 2.4 times the theoretical limit |
Scientists spotted an enormous black hole in the early universe that’s growing at 2.4 times the theoretical Eddington limit. Studying it further could help answer one of the biggest questions
in astrophysics. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Bogotá, Colombia
People look at Argentinian sculptor Leandro Erlich’s work Arrancada de raíz (Uprooted), displayed as part of BOG25, Bogotá’s inaugural International Biennial of Art and City, in Plaza de Lourdes
Photograph: Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda/EPA
Amsterdam, Netherlands
An art restorer points at the image of a barking dog in Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. Rembrandt based the dog on an early 17th-century drawing by Adriaen van de Venne, according to research carried out as part of Operation Night Watch, the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the painting
Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP
London, England
A heron takes flight during sunrise in Richmond Park
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for September 23rd, 2025
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
46292.78 | -88.76 |
| -0.19% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6656.92 | -36.83 |
| -0.55% | ||
| NASDAQ | 22573.47 | -215.51 |
| -0.95% | ||
| TSX | 29815.63 | -143.35 |
| -0.48% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 45493.66 | +447.85 |
| +0.99% | ||
| HANG SENG |
26159.12 | -185.02 |
| -0.70% | ||
| SENSEX | 82102.10 | -57.87 |
| -0.07% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 9223.32 | -3.36 |
| -0.04% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.188 | 3.199 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.658 | 3.664 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.1061 | 4.1467 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.7193 | 4.7625 |
Currencies
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7228 | 0.7234 |
| US $ |
1.3835 | 1.3823 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 1.6347 | 0.6117 |
| US $ |
1.1814 | 0.8464 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
3719.70 | 3663.15 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 63.81 | 62.68 |
Market Commentary:
Welch’s genius was the capacity to energize and inspire hundreds of thousands of people across a range of businesses and countries. –Warren G. Bennis, USC Business professor, as quoted in Business Week, September 10, 2001, referring to retiring CEO Jack Welch of General Electric.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5% at 29,815.63 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.6% on Aug.
25 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 97 of 213 shares fell, while 111 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.5%.
AtkinsRealis Group Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.6%.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 21%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 11%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* This month, the index rose 4.4%
* The index advanced 25% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 34.1% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.7% in the past 5 days and rose 5.2% 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 18.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.8t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.05% compared with 6.75% in the previous session and the average of 8.88% over the past month
Index Points
Information Technology| -118.2230| -3.8| 1/8
Industrials | -51.2053| -1.5| 6/23
Financials | -29.6085| -0.3| 8/14
Consumer Discretionary| -4.0121| -0.4| 2/7
Materials | -3.2844| -0.1| 28/22
Real Estate | -2.8447| -0.5| 6/12
Health Care | 0.5733| 0.7| 2/2
Communication Services| 3.1448| 0.5| 4/1
Utilities | 3.9304| 0.4| 11/3
Consumer Staples | 9.0188| 0.9| 8/2
Energy | 49.1653| 1.1| 35/3
Shopify | -83.5200| -4.5| 3.6| 35.6
Constellation | Software | -27.8600| -4.8| 84.5| -10.0
Brookfield Corp | -14.4600| -1.4| 14.9| 19.9
Agnico Eagle Mines | Ltd | 6.9520| 0.9| 2.0| 99.9
Bank of Montreal | 8.1530| 0.9| -34.3| 29.5
Enbridge | 9.7440| 0.9| -47.1| 12.5
(MT Newswires):
(Updates to add a report the Bank of Montreal is considering the sale of some U.S. branches.)
After running up to a record intraday high above the 30,000 marks for the first time early Tuesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange then succumbed to profit taking over the remainder of the session as market watchers awaited and then digested a mid-afternoon speech from Bank of Canada Governor, Tiff Macklem.
Despite higher commodity prices, the resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 143.35 points, or 0.5%, to 29,815.63, even with most sectors higher.
The Battery Metals Index was up 3.9% and Energy up 1%.
Among the biggest losers, Info Tech was down 2.9% and Industrials down 1.5%.
“In stock specific news, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) has recently explored a sale of some of its U.S. branches with roughly US$6 billion in deposits, according to people familiar with the matter.
The bank is seeking to unload certain locations after its deal to buy Bank of the West, it said.
On the domestic economics front, there has not yet been much of a reaction to Macklem, who delivered a speech mid-afternoon Eastern Time on global trade disruption to Saskatchewan business leaders.
Of note, Macklem said trad growth in Canada had slowed well before the re-election of President Trump in the United States, adding trade as a share of Canadian GDP stopped increasing in about 2000.
But, Macklem said, Canadian exports have declined sharply since Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada and “created considerable uncertainty” with tariff threats and reversals.
In the longer term, Macklem said, increased trade friction with the United States means Canada’s economy will work “less efficiently, with added costs and less income”.
He added: “We need to diversify our trade by growing our internal market and finding new overseas markets.
And we need to improve our productivity and make ourselves more attractive to investors.
That work has started, and I’ve spoken about all these things before.”
Just ahead of the close of equity trading, Desjardins Macro Strategist Tiago Figueiredo offered a quick take on the speech.
In his prepared remarks, Figueiredo noted, Macklem indicated that the trade war with the United States has pushed Canada onto a permanently lower path for economic activity.
“He [Macklem] then noted that monetary and even counter-cyclical fiscal stimulus are not long-term solutions to the problems at hand.
Structural reforms that help improve Canada’s productivity and competitiveness by diversifying away from the US are changes that could improve long-term domestic growth prospects.
The Governor noted that some of these require little fiscal cost and could be implemented quickly.
He suggested reducing inter-provincial barriers, mutually recognizing labour accreditation for certain professions, and reducing regulatory approvals and uncertainty.”
“However,” Figueiredo said, “Macklem noted that monetary policy can support the economy through this period of adjustment.
Economic activity has deteriorated, in part as a result of the trade war with the US, but concerns around inflation had held the central bank back from easing until recently.
Going forward, Macklem said that his central bank remains prepared to react to new information and support economic growth while ensuring that inflation remains well controlled.
That’s broadly in line with last week’s communications, which saw the Bank refraining from providing specific forward guidance.
That said, it could also be argued that Macklem did not feel the need to push back against market expectations for more easing.
As a result, we remain comfortable holding the view that Canadian central bankers will lower their policy rate to a trough of 2.00%.”
Of commodities, gold futures continued their record run, rising above the US$3,800 mark for the first time as lower interest rates and safe-haven buying support the precious metal.
Gold for December delivery was up $38.50 to US$3,813.60 per ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate oil closed higher, rebounding from four losing sessions as Chinese demand continues to offset rising supply.
WTI crude oil for November delivery closed up $1.13 to settle at US$63.41 per barrel, while November Brent oil was last seen up $0.90 to US$67.47.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders drove stocks down from all-time highs, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offering no hints on whether he might support a rate cut at the central bank’s October meeting.
Bonds held gains.
Following a series of records, equities took a breather amid a slide in big tech.
Powell said the outlooks for the labor market and inflation face risks, reiterating his view that policymakers likely have a difficult road ahead as they weigh further interest-rate cuts.
“Powell says nothing new,” noted Peter Boockvar at The Boock Report.
To David Russell at TradeStation, Powell is laying the groundwork for tariffs boosting inflation in the fourth quarter.
He’s giving officials room to maneuver against political pressure, and softening the message by saying the impact will be short lived.
Fed officials lowered their benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point last week and penciled in two more reductions this year following months of intense pressure from the White House to slash borrowing costs.
“Powell doesn’t want to antagonize the White House but he’s not rolling over either,” Russell said.
“He’s keeping his options open in case price pressures increase.
Powell’s not trying to sound hawkish, but he’s trying to dodge some of the forceful demand for aggressive cuts.”
While most shares in the S&P 500 rose, the index slipped.
A gauge of tech mega caps lost 1.5%.
In late hours, Micron Technology Inc. gave an upbeat forecast.
Ten-year yields slid four basis points to 4.11%.
The dollar wavered.
Gold held its record.
Oil climbed amid tensions between NATO and Russia.
To Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research, Powell continues to signal he’s more focused on the labor market.
“There is reason to expect Powell to be onboard with rate cuts at each of the next two meetings,” he said.
Some policymakers are becoming more concerned about growing risks to the labor market, while others remain primarily worried about the possibility that above-target inflation could be pushed higher by tariffs and other policies.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said officials need to act decisively to bring down rates as the labor market weakens.
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he sees more inflation coming, echoing remarks from his Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee.
Powell on Stocks
“While some hawkish Fed officials put a lot of weight on market developments and see this as a reason to be wary about cutting rates any further in the near term, this is not the way Powell and the core group think,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.
Guha also noted that Powell declined a clear invitation to signal alarm about stock gains or suggest that the ebullience in the market is leading to the Fed having second thoughts about dovish policy.
“He agreed with his questioner that prices look highly valued by historic standards and said the Fed looks at financial conditions.
But he made it clear that it is not the Fed’s job to target stock prices or decide what the right valuation should be.
In other words, employment, and inflation trump stock prices,” Guha said.
Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise noted that since May, the 10-year Treasury yield has been on a bumpy decline, and the S&P 500 has posted strong gains over the same period.
Simply, lower rates make future corporate earnings more attractive when discounted to their present value — supporting higher equity valuations.
“Lower discount rates increase the present value of future cash flows for companies, making equities more appealing relative to fixed income alternatives, all else equal,” Saglimbene added.
Prospects of further rate cuts, surprisingly strong profit growth and enthusiasm for Big Tech companies that are capitalizing on artificial intelligence have all kept equities near their all-time highs.
The record-setting advance has pushed the S&P 500 nearly 3% above the average year-end forecast among those tracked by Bloomberg, which currently stands at 6,486.
Only in 2024 and 1999 have the analyst calls lagged the market’s actual return so
much around this time of the year.
“The bull market in equities is ‘alive and kicking’,” said Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler.
“While we maintain our bullish outlook over the intermediate- to longer-term, we also recognize that the SPX has advanced for nearly five straight months without a material pullback.”
His year-end S&P 500 price objective of 6,600 has recently been achieved, and short-term momentum has modestly eased.
Johnson says he’ll review his year-end objective and look to establish a 2026 objective in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The gauge hovered near 6,650.
Meantime, a burst of activity is powering the US IPO market toward its busiest month since the final innings of a manic 2021.
Klarna Group Plc and Netskope Inc.’s successful outings led the charge, lifting September’s US initial public offerings volume so far to $7.6 billion, excluding financial vehicles such as blank-check firms.
Newly public companies delivered a weighted-average return of 17%.
Corporate Highlights:
* Nvidia Corp. assured customers that its landmark deal with OpenAI to invest $100 billion and expand AI infrastructure together won’t affect the chipmaker’s relationship with other clients.
* Google is introducing an artificial intelligence assistant that can offer live coaching to mobile gamers, part of a larger effort to boost engagement on its Android platform.
* ASM International NV cut its sales outlook for the second half of the year, citing lower-than-anticipated demand from some of the semiconductor equipment maker’s clients.
* Nexstar Media Group Inc. said it would join Sinclair Inc., another large owner of ABC TV stations, in not airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night.
* Walt Disney Co. is hiking the cost of its Disney+ streaming service without advertising by $3 to $19 a month. The cost of a plan with ads will rise by $2 to $12 monthly, the company said. The new pricing will go into effect Oct. 21.
* Boeing Co. will partner with Palantir Technologies Inc. to integrate artificial intelligence on current and future defense programs and in its factories.
** Boeing and Uzbekistan Airways unveiled a deal for as many as 22 of the US plane maker’s 787 Dreamliner jets, the largest-ever order in the airline’s history.
* The Trump administration linked Tylenol to autism and urged pregnant women to avoid the common pain medication despite the lack of widely accepted scientific evidence supporting the risk.
* Johnson & Johnson is withdrawing a device to treat debilitating acid reflux disease from markets outside the US, a move surgeons warned would set back the available treatment options for sufferers by more than a decade and also impact lung transplant patients.
* Lowe’s Cos. sold $5 billion of bonds to help fund its pending acquisition of Foundation Building Materials, one of the few September buyout financings in the US investment-grade market as overall issuance set a record for the month.
* Firefly Aerospace Inc. reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, as the small-rocket launcher works to ramp up the frequency of its flights and win new contracts.
* AutoZone Inc. reported comparable sales for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
* Investment giants KKR & Co. and Blackstone Inc. are leading a combined $17 billion investment in the natural gas industry, marking a massive push of private funds into a sector helping to quench artificial intelligence firms’ relentless thirst for energy.
** KKR and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on Tuesday agreed to pay $10 billion for a 45% equity stake in Sempra’s infrastructure arm, which builds liquefied natural gas projects.
* L’Oréal SA, named by Giorgio Armani as a potential investor in the late Italian fashion mogul’s eponymous business, would only be interested in its profitable beauty arm, according to a person familiar with the matter.
* Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc extended its production shutdown yet again as the cyberattack that’s crippled the carmaker persists.
* Huawei Technologies Co. openly admits its silicon can’t match Nvidia’s in raw power and speed. So to pack the same punch, China’s national champion is counting on its traditional strengths: brute force, networking, and policy support.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“For the year as a whole, the SPX has rallied on 57.2% of trading days.
That’s actually higher than the last few years (despite the strong rallies of 2021, 2023, and 2024), though it’s slightly below the Covid year of 2020 (57.3%).
There is of course time to best that win rate through the end of the year, but at this juncture it’s likely to be a struggle to best 2019’s mark of rallies on 59.5% of trading days.”
—Cameron Crise, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.55% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 1.5%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1817
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3525
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.63 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1% to $111,675.42
* Ether fell 0.7% to $4,154.7
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.11%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.75%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.68%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.59%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.72%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to $63.69 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,764.59 an ounce
Have a lovely evening everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Wise men say nothing in dangerous times. –Aesop, c.620 BCE-564 BCE.
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
www.carolannsteinhoff.com