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 Q4 2025 edition covers Market Review up to Q3 of 2025, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom and gold’s surge. Shiuman’s Corner is a about my cycling adventures for fund raising.

Markets

Market scorecard as of close on Friday December 05, 2025.

Country	Equity Indices	Level	1 week	YTD
Canada	S&P/TSX Composite	31,311	-0.2%	26.6%
U.S.	S&P 500	6,870	0.3%	16.8%
U.S.	NASDAQ	23,578	0.9%	22.1%
Europe/Asia	MSCI EAFE	2,846	1.3%	25.8%

Source: FactSet

• TSX finished lower in Friday afternoon trading, near worst levels. Most sectors lower. Canadian equities recorded a 0.2% weekly decline. Year-to-date still up 26.6%.
• US equities were mostly higher in very quiet Friday trading. Stocks ended off best levels, but were still slightly higher for the week, while S&P 500 held below 28-Oct record close (6890.89).
• As the chart below shows, in early 2023, soon after the bull market began, an interesting pattern reasserted itself. The performance gap widened notably between the 10 largest U.S. stocks and S&P 500 Index, along with its equal-weighted counterpart.

 

                                                         

 

• Since the bull run began on Oct. 12, 2022, on a total-return basis:
  • S&P 500 Top 10 has surged 175 percent
  • S&P 500 has rallied 100 percent
  • S&P 500 Equal Weighted has risen 58 percent
• We think the focus of the AI development cycle probably needs to start shifting to “AI 2.0,” where signs of productivity and financial benefits start accruing to companies not just inside, but also outside of the technology industry.

ECONOMY 

Canada

• Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have reached an agreement under which Ottawa will drop its planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector and roll back selected clean-electricity rules. In return, Alberta will strengthen its industrial carbon-pricing system and support a major carbon-capture initiative—touted as one of the largest globally—as part of efforts to advance long-term climate neutrality goals.
• • The framework also opens the door to renewed consideration of a crude-oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast, a move that could expand access to Asian markets and reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. buyers at a time of heightened trade uncertainty.
• Canada’s economy posted a stronger-than-expected rebound in Q3, with real GDP rising at a 2.6% annualized pace following a revised 1.8% contraction in Q2.

U.S.

• The Fed’s upcoming interest rate decision has been clouded by the scarcity of economic data releases due to the 43-day government shutdown that ended Nov. 12. Market-based estimates of the potential for a cut having risen to almost 90% ahead of the meeting from 25% in November.
• The prospect of interest cuts and excitement surrounding the AI theme have been the two main drivers of the rally in stocks over the past six months, in our opinion. But we believe the AI narrative appears to be shifting from a “rising tide lifts all boats” theme to a “pick your winners” theme in tandem with the shift in investment cycles from “AI 1.0” to “AI 2.0”.
• Further Afield
• In the UK, the long-awaited November budget delivered a broadly neutral fiscal stance. As befits a left-leaning government, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced more generous child-welfare payments and energy subsidies.
• Many market observers believe a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month would be timely for several Asian currencies. A lower federal funds rate would likely reduce the pressure on the falling rupee and provide some reprieve for the faltering rupiah, won, and peso. On the other hand, the yuan has performed well against the U.S. dollar.

NOTES ABOUT COMPANIES IN MODEL PORTFOLIO

• Element Fleet Management Corp. (EFN) announced Tuesday a definitive agreement to acquire Car IQ, a San Francisco–based technology company and pioneer in connected vehicle payments. Car IQ's technology enables vehicles to autonomously initiate, authenticate, and complete transactions with merchants, eliminating physical cards, PINs, and manual reconciliation.
• Royal Bank of Canada (RY) reported Q4 2025 results Wednesday. Net income for the year was $20.4 billion, up 25% year-over-year. RY declared an increase to its quarterly common share dividend of 10 cents, or six per cent, to $1.64 per share, payable on or after February 24, 2026.

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

Regards,

Shiuman

 

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