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 Q2 2025 edition covers Market Review for Q1 2025, the impact of tariffs on markets, and how to position your portfolio during a time of disruption. Shiuman’s Corner is about the art of retail in Japan.

Markets

Market scorecard as of close on Friday May 16, 2025.

Country	Equity Indices	Level	1 week	YTD
Canada	S&P/TSX Composite	25,972	2.4%	5.0%
U.S.	S&P 500	5,958	5.3%	1.3%
U.S.	NASDAQ	19,211	7.2%	-0.5%
Europe/Asia	MSCI EAFE	2,550	0.8%	12.7%

Source: FactSet

• TSX closed higher in Friday afternoon rangebound trading, near best levels and new all-time high. Most sectors higher. Health care the outsized gainer, led by cannabis after Trump's pick to lead DEA.
• US equities finished higher in Friday trading, ending near best levels. Major indices capped solid weekly gains, higher for third week in past four. Nasdaq was up more than 7% for the week, while S&P ended the week only ~3% below its February record close.
• Global equity markets continued to march higher recently on the back of the de-escalation of the trade war. The U.S. stock market has recovered all the losses experienced in early April. As a result, the stock market is at about the same place it was when the year began.

Economy

Canada

• The Canadian labour market posted weaker-than-expected employment and unemployment rates for April. The national unemployment rate rose to 6.9%, higher than consensus expectations and up from March’s 6.7%. RBC Economics expects slowing economic conditions and estimates the unemployment rate will rise to over 7% this year, though the expectation is contingent on evolving international trade risks.
• The Canadian goods trade deficit narrowed to C$500 million in March from C$1.4 billion in February as imports fell, led by a 2.9% m/m slump in shipments from the U.S. after Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on its neighbour in response to the Trump administration’s 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum from March 12.

U.S.

• The economic data highlights during the week were the monthly U.S. inflation readings. Both consumer inflation and producer inflation came in lower than expected in April, confounding analysts who had expected tariff hikes to spur higher prices.
• The disconnect may have been due to front-loading of inventories ahead of tariff implementation or, more worryingly, a drop in demand.

Further Afield

• The U.S. and UK announced a legally non-binding trade “deal.” The reciprocal tariff rate of 10% for UK imports remains, but tariffs on British steel and aluminium have been eliminated, while most car imports will be subject to a rate of 10% versus 27.5% previously. The UK seems to have made minimal concessions.
• UK’s strict food standards, the main barrier to U.S. agricultural imports, remain in place. By maintaining food standards, the UK remains well placed to build closer trade ties with the EU. Forging a closer alliance with its neighbour has become a priority for the UK government. To this end, the parties will meet for a summit on May 19, though talks will be more focused on defense than trade.

Notes About Companies in Model Portfolio

• UnitedHealth Group (UNH) announced Tuesday the appointment of Stephen J. Hemsley as its chief executive officer, effective immediately, following Andrew Witty’s decision to step down as CEO for personal reasons. Hemsley, who served as company CEO from 2006-2017, will remain chairman of the company’s Board of Directors and Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley.

 

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

Regards,

Shiuman

 

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