Below is a summary of some of the relevant news items from the Capital Markets and the Economy from the past week extracted from RBC Global Insights and FactSet Research.

You can catch up on the past four weeks’ Weekly Update in the link to my Blog.

Read my latest Smart Investor newsletter on my website. The Q1 2026 edition covers Market Review for the year 2025, some long-term themes that drive investments, and how to achieve a balanced approach to wealth and health. Shiuman’s Corner covers the books I read last year.

Markets

Market scorecard as of close on Friday February 20, 2026.

Country	Equity Indices	Level	1 week	YTD
Canada	S&P/TSX Composite	33,818	2.2%	6.6%
U.S.	S&P 500	6,910	1.1%	0.9%
U.S.	NASDAQ	22,886	1.5%	-1.5%
Europe/Asia	MSCI EAFE	3,142	0.8%	8.6%

Source: FactSet

• TSX closed higher in Friday afternoon trading, near best levels and new all-time high. Most sectors higher. Materials the best performer. Canadian equities recorded a 2.3% weekly gain.
• US equities ended mostly higher in Friday trading, a bit off best levels. Comes after Thursday's mostly lower finish though S&P and Nasdaq still both logged modest weekly gains.
•  
• ECONOMY
• Canada
• Canada’s headline inflation in January came in slightly below consensus expectations, edging down to 2.3% y/y from 2.4% in December, according to Statistics Canada. The data shows that Canadian inflation continues to move in a constructive direction while supporting the Bank of Canada’s inclination to pause monetary policy easing as it monitors how the trade environment is affecting the economy.
• Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday unveiled a new defence industrial strategy aimed at reducing Canada’s reliance on U.S. suppliers by doubling the share of domestic procurement for military equipment, targeting 70% by 2035 from roughly one-third today.
• Last week, Frances Donald, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, RBC discussed the economic outlook for 2026 and addressed topics that are top of mind for our clients in the rapidly-evolving landscape. If you missed the event or would like to watch it again, the recording is now available for your review:

                                                             

 

Economic Insights for 2026 with RBC Chief Economist, Frances Donald

Passcode: CPBUPDATE

U.S.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruling against broad tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) removes government authority to collect them going forward. Still, other legislative authorities are open for the administration to re-instate tariffs. You can read an article from RBC Economics here.
• The ruling will have less impact on Canadian trade than most other countries. Most Canadian exports are already exempt from IEEPA tariffs via an exemption for CUSMA compliant trade. We continue to view maintaining free trade under CUSMA—including through negotiations to extend the agreement later this year—as more important for the Canadian external demand outlook than court rulings.

                                                                                   

Further Afield

• The Munich Security Conference (Feb. 13–15) underscored Europe’s move toward strategic defence autonomy, particularly regarding nuclear deterrence, driven by diminishing confidence in American reliability.
• The Japanese bond market, notably long-end Japanese government bonds (JGBs), has stabilised and reacted somewhat positively to the previous week’s resounding political victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s party and its coalition partner.

Notes About Companies in Model Portfolio

• Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) announced results for its first quarter ended January 31, 2026. Net income and earnings per share were $210.9 million and $2.19 per diluted share, compared to net income of $177.7 million and $1.75 per diluted share in FY 2025's first quarter. Home sales gross margin was 24.8%, compared to FY 2025’s first quarter home sales gross margin of 25.0%.

Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or to discuss investment ideas.

 

Regards,

Shiuman

 

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