A Government Shutdown Doesn’t Mean a Market Meltdown
This past week, funding for the US government expired at midnight on September 30. With Republicans and Democrats dug in, no deal was reached to pass a temporary spending bill and avert a shutdown. As a result, the government was suspended for the 15th time since 1981, halting scientific research, financial oversight, environmental cleanup, and a wide range of other services. About 750,000 federal workers were ordered to stay home, while others – including the armed forces and Border Patrol agents – continued working without pay (they’ll be paid retroactively once operations resume). A shutdown usually doesn’t send markets into free fall, but it does tend to stir up volatility on both sides of the border. So, let’s take a look at what a US government shutdown actually is and what it means for us investors.
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Monthly Portfolio Update August 2025
August is usually a sleepy month for markets, with many professional investors off on holiday and trading volumes thin. But this year, the supposedly quiet stretch turned into another winning month. All four major indexes extended their streaks, with the Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq) chalking up its fifth consecutive monthly gain – up 1.6%, its longest run in nearly a year and a half. The S&P 500 (S&P) added 1.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 3.2%, and the Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index (TSX) led the pack with a surge of 4.8%, its strongest showing of the summer. For the S&P and DJIA, it marked their longest streak since fall 2024.
The rally was less about confiden
Weekly Update for the week ending August 22, 2025
Bigger Slices of the Pie: Understanding Share Buybacks
While going through the latest batch of quarterly reports, I noticed quite a few companies announcing share buyback programs. If you’re new to investing, that might not sound like much, but buybacks can actually be a very shareholder-friendly move. So this week, let’s talk about what they are and how they can benefit us as investors.
Weekly Update for the week ending August 15, 2025
Paying to Play: What Nvidia and AMD’s China Access Means for Investors
The Trump administration has struck a highly unusual deal with Nvidia (NASD: NVDA) and AMD (NASD: AMD) to sell certain artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China – Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 – the companies must hand over 15% of those sales to the US government. In return, they get the export licenses needed to ship the chips to China. This effectively reopens a market that had been closed off under earlier restrictions..
While it might sound like a simple trade-off – a cut for the US, access for the companies – it sets a dangerous precedent.
Weekly Update for the week ending August 8, 2025
An Ominous Start to a Historically Volatile Month
Well, August didn’t waste any time making waves. Both the Canadian and US markets opened the month with sharp declines on August 1, but the storm clouds actually started forming the day before. President Trump signed an executive order imposing new import duties, ranging from 10% to 41%, on about 90 countries. Canada was hit with a hefty 35% rate, alongside India, Taiwan, and others. The tariffs didn’t take effect until August 7, but the announcement alone rattled markets, fuelling worries about renewed trade tensions and rising inflation risks.
Then came Friday’s US jobs report, which landed with a thud. Payroll growth in July came in roughly 25% below expectations, and to make matters worse, May and June were revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs. That raised fresh concerns about a slowing economy.
Monthly Portfolio Update July 2025
July was another milestone month for markets, powered by strong corporate earnings, growing artificial intelligence (AI) excitement, cautious central banks, and signs that both economies might be cooling. The Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index (TSX), S&P 500 Index (S&P), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq) all surged to record highs mid-month, fueled by optimism on multiple fronts. But those gains didn’t fully stick – markets pulled back in the final stretch as fresh trade tensions and persistent inflation concerns crept back into the picture.