David Burrows is back — and he’s bringing receipts. When he joined In the Money with Amber Kanwar last year, his call that Canada would behave more like a global market than a U.S. tech-heavy one went viral… and then it played out. Now, the Chairman & CIO of Barometer Capital Management, returns with the same message, only louder: the market is shifting — and the forces driving the new leadership are getting stronger. Burrows explains why investors may need to look beyond the familiar tech trade, and why commodities, financials, defence, and selective international exposure are increasingly doing the heavy lifting as we head deeper into 2026.
We survived snowmaggedon 2026. I told the kids we would have fun and if there was no fighting mom wouldn’t yell all day. We made it to 6pm when I discovered a chunk of hair was missing from Child One’s head. Still, not a bad day in my books.
Here are five things to know today:
Great rotation: US futures are higher looking to add to yesterday’s tech fueled gains. Financials were also strong on the back of rallies from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Still, tech and financials are the two worst performing sectors in 2026. Much is being written about the “great rotation” in stocks. Even with the rally in tech, small caps as measured by the Russell 2000 have been outperforming. The S&P 500 equal weight index is up 4% compared to just 1.5% for the market weight index. The TSX is continuing to outperform US markets, with a gain of 4% so far this year.
Trading spaces: Canada has struck a deal with China to ease trade barriers. China will lower tariffs on some Canadian agricultural goods and Canada will allow the import of 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a 6% tariff rate, down from 100%. This is the first breakthrough in relations since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in power. Dropping EV tariffs breaks with the US signaling Canada is charting its own way in this world ahead of the renewal (or not?) of NAFTA 2.0. There is little reaction in the Canadian dollar to the trade pact. Meanwhile, the US has struck a trade deal with Taiwan. The US will lower tariffs on goods from Taiwan to 15% and in exchange Taiwanese semiconductor companies will increase investments in the US. This of course flies in the face of China’s “One-China” policy so it will be interesting to watch how China reacts even though relations between the US and China appear better than US and Canada (last check they were still incommunicado regarding trade).
Heading to regionals: Regional banks are under pressure this morning after a few disappointing earnings prints signal they are losing out to the big banks. Regions Financial is down 4% after profit and loan growth missed expectations. It also warned they would pay more on deposits than they would make on loans in the first quarter of 2026. Wells Fargo swiftly downgraded the stock saying now is not the time to buy even the “most plain vanilla” regional banks unless they are targets of takeovers preferring instead the “goliaths” of banking. M&T Bank put in a mixed quarter, profit beat was aided by lower provisions for loans that could go bad while their net interest margins (dif between what they pay on deposits and make on loans) was lower than expected. PNC Financial is bucking the trend, up 4%, as profit came in higher than expected and unlike the other banks does not see any margin compression and is touting 14% net interest income growth for 2026.
Hunger strike: Shares of Mosaic are falling 4.5% after the fertilizer giant warned that demand declined beyond normal in the fourth quarter. Shares of Nutrien are taking a hit in sympathy. Farmers were stingier and winter came earlier which means sales of fertilizers were weak said Mosaic. They are expecting phosphate sales to be down 20% and warn potash demand was also negatively affected. Shares of Mosaic have only just started to pick up and the company is saying that 2026 still looks bright despite the fourth quarter hiccups. “Growers are expected to replenish nutrients removed by last year’s strong crop, and additional government support payments are poised to stimulate demand for the North American spring application period,” said Mosaic in a statement. Mosaic reports February 24th.
Notable calls: Baytex is catching a downgrade at TD Cowen on valuation. Shares are up 25% over the past year and the oil producer has been “aggressively getting after the buyback” following the sale of its Eagle Ford assets for $2.3 billion. Menno Hulshof says there is plenty going right at the company but that valuation looks “relatively full.” Enbridge is getting upgraded at Scotia. After $12 billion worth of projects in 2025, Scotia is optimistic the pipeline operator will continue to land attractive deals in its natural gas and utulitty business.
Don’t miss our next episode! Can Canada’s smallest bank and last year’s worst performing turn things around under a new CEO? Don’t miss our exclusive interview!
