"Reflection... looking back so the view looking forward is clearer." Unknown

Good morning,

A season of change is in the air.....it’s election time here in Canada and this week is the official end of summer.

It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end, but a season of change is something we look forward to all year long. The leaves begin transforming their hues and we start to prepare for the new season ahead, the unknown awaits. Change is a fundamental and radical thing, it brings on a fresh perspective, a rotation of stoke that ignites new purpose and encourages reflection.

It’s been said that we do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience. What better time than this week of the changing season to reflect, one of our most underused yet powerful tools for success. It’s important for us all to take an opportunity to reflect on how far we have journeyed as individuals, as families, as communities. In reflection we can harvest understanding. The more reflective you are, the more effective you are.

Self-reflection entails asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining where you want to take your life in the future.

It seems that no matter where we're at in life, a new season of change is a welcome chance for reflection and looking forward to see how beautiful the new season is on the horizon.

"Your soul needs time for solitude and self-reflection. In order to love lead, heal and create you must nourish yourself first." Linda Joy

And now, to the ever changing markets…..

S&P futures down 1.2% in Monday morning trading after US equities finished mostly lower last week with the S&P down for a second straight week and the Dow down for a third straight week. Asian equities under pressure overnight with Hong Kong down more than 3% while Japan, mainland China Korea and Taiwan were closed for holiday. European markets seeing big pullbacks. Treasuries mostly firmer with the curve flattening. Dollar weaker vs yen but stronger on the other major crosses. Gold up 0.4%. Bitcoin futures down 5.1%. WTI crude off 2.4% after gaining for a fourth straight week last week.

Global risk-off sentiment largely chalked up to China and concerns about contagion from Evergrande. Embattled real estate company, with more than $300B in liabilities, has an $83.5M interest payment due on 23-Sep and another $47.5M due on 29-Sep. Company has reportedly begun repaying investors in its wealth management products with real estate. Also concerns China's regulatory crackdown is expanding to Hong Kong developers. Chinese officials defended their ever-expanding regulatory crackdown in a recent meeting with Wall Street executives, but also reassured them they are not looking to stifle tech companies or the private sector.

Washington another area of concern with no clear path for a debt ceiling raise. In a WSJ op-ed, Yellen warned failure to raise debt ceiling soon would likely precipitate a historic financial crisis. Press reports continued to highlight big divisions between moderates and progressives over size and scope of reconciliation package. Axios reported Manchin wants Democrats to delay reconciliation push until 2022. Senior House Democrats said Sunday $3.5T price tag for reconciliation bill likely to have to come down. Also skepticism that Pelosi will be able to hold a House vote on bipartisan infrastructure package next week, as originally planned.

Not much corporate news over the weekend. Bloomberg flagged worries about recent wave of earnings warnings from early cycle companies. Barron's discussed expectations for big US companies to ramp up buybacks and dividends. CNBC noted AMZN-US adding more sponsored ads to the top of its search results as advertising becomes a bigger piece of its business. VZ-US decided to match rivals T-US and TMUS-US with offer to give away new AAPL-US iPhone 13 Pro for $999 and the new head of the National Transportation Safety Board said TSLA-US should hold off on major upgrade of its driver-assistance software.

As we head into the week, take the opportunity to compare less and reflect more, reflection is never-ending process of self-study, self-reflection, education, training, and experience. The more we are aware of from where we have travelled, the more we can be intentional with our direction.

Without reflection, we go blindly on our way. Margaret J. Wheatley

Be well & enjoy the moments

Derek