Insights · Commentary
Market commentary and perspective from Chief Investment Officer Scott Smith.
Equities paused last week as investors questioned whether the AI capital-expenditure (capex) boom is sustainable and whether future earnings justify the vast build-out. Emerging vendor-financing loops in mega-cap tech—think Nvidia investing in OpenAI, OpenAI inking a cloud deal with Oracle, and Orac
Gold has been making headlines this year, extending an uptrend that began in late 2022. Recent months have been especially sharp, with higher prices accompanied by more volatility. Even after a pullback of 6% from last week’s all-time high, gold remains up 7% in October, 50% year-to-date, and 30% an
The U.S. economy is approaching a critical juncture, as a softening labor market coincides with growing pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease policy. Markets now expect a September rate cut, with more likely to follow by year-end. Political tensions have intensified, as the administration presses
Calgary hasn’t felt like summer with all the rain, but the sun has been shining on equities and risk sentiment. Global equity markets continue to climb the proverbial “wall of worry,” well above pre-liberation day levels and are near all-time highs. On the plus side, ultra-aggressive trade policy ha
In a year marked by shifting macro narratives and renewed enthusiasm for real assets, platinum and palladium have emerged as standout performers in the commodity space. Both metals posted strong price gains in Q2 2025, driven by tightening supply and resilient industrial demand, prompting a strategi
With the worst of the trade war likely in the rearview for financial markets, attention has now turned to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Oil prices spiked on the back of Israeli airstrikes under “Operation Rising Lion” that targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure and oil and gas fa
Despite swirling uncertainty around trade policy, global equity markets have shrugged off the noise with U.S. stocks rallying back to levels last seen in February. The latest spark was the May jobs report for the U.S that came in stronger than expected, with 139,000 new positions added—enough to boo
With headlines dominated by tariffs and trade tensions, many are bracing for higher prices at the checkout. But when it comes to summer grilling staples, it’s not just tariffs turning up the heat—beef prices are already on a tear. Live and feeder cattle futures are up double digits in 2025, and when
If you managed to disconnect from news headlines for the month of April and avoided checking any financial charts, you’d have no idea that equity markets had just endured a full-blown anxiety attack. As quickly as market sentiment soured from the reciprocal tariff announcements on Liberation Day, eq
Canadians headed to the polls on Monday and handed the Liberal Party a fourth consecutive election victory. While the comeback seemed unthinkable earlier this year, the narrow margin of victory leaves the Liberals with a weaker mandate than pre-election polling had forecasted. Heading into election
While the initial shock from the April 2nd “Liberation Day” tariff announcement has subsided, markets remain stuck on a rollercoaster of policy uncertainty. Headlines continue to drive intraday volatility as investors try to make sense of shifting trade rules—new tariff categories, exemptions, and d
Given the events that transpired this week, it seems suitable to lead with one of Vladimir Lenin’s famous quotes: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” What was dubbed by the U.S. administration as “Liberation Day” on April 2nd will go down in history a