The setting of this morning’s newsletter is at a dear friends cottage with eight children buzzing around. The surprising part is how peaceful it is. It is just moms and their kids. You’ve never seen a more high functioning breakfast operation. Maybe those Mormon wives are onto something.
On this episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar, GreensKeeper Asset Management founder and value investor Michael McCloskey joins Amber for a masterclass in long-term investing. He explains why value investing means running toward fear, not hype — and how to separate a true bargain from a value trap. You can tune in on Apple, Spotify or here.
Hopped up: US futures are higher as tech earnings fuel gains and reports of a trade deal between the US and the EU spark a risk-on mood. Meanwhile the ECB held on rates after a series of rate cuts. Dow futures are under pressure but that is mainly because of UnitedHealth which is down about 3% after saying it is cooperating with the Department of Justice’s investigation into their practices. We just got retail sales in Canada that showed spending fell more than feared in May but rebounded strongly in June according to the flash estimate. Sales fell 1.1% in May which was slightly worse than expected, but the flash estimate by StatsCan suggests sales rebounded 1.6%. It is unlikely to sway the Bank of Canada which makes its rate decision on July 30th and is projected to keep rates on hold.
Tech check: Shares of Alphabet are up 3.5% after revenue and profit beat expectations. Sales grew more than expected across the board while Search grew 11%, better than the 10% growth last quarter. This will be particular relief to shareholders worried about what ChatGPT and other AI bots were doing to market share. Speaking of AI, Alphabet’s plans on AI spending exceeded expectations with plans to spend $85 billion. This is helping to boost Nvidia (+1%) which will be the recipient of the spending. The bottom line on Alphabet is this quarter seems to satisfy investors that they are getting their AI act together. “It’s the only one of the Mag 7 that we find attractively priced. It’s a very good business. They’re well positioned in AI,” said Michael McCloskey on the podcast. Tesla is falling 6% now after warning that there will be a few “tough” quarters ahead before things improve in the back half of 2026. Total sales fell 11.2% which was worse than feared. Barclays summarized the results noting the gulf between Tesla’s narrative and fundamentals is widening. IBM is weighing on the tech sector as well down 6%. Big blue posted weaker than expected sales in the software segment and given the stock’s run up the weakness is an easy reason to sell.
Interloper: Cenvous is said to be preparing a bid for MEG Energy according to a report from the National Post. This comes as Strathcona effectively put the company into play with its hostile offer at the end of April. Their offer is lower than the current stock price, but remember they also own 10% in MEG. Recall, Waterous told us if he doesn’t get MEG he would get a nice bump from a higher takeout price and would issue a special $10/share dividend to shareholders. MEG has apparently given rival bidders until Monday to submit their bids. Strathcona’s offer expires September 15.
Check out: Watch shares of Loblaw at the open after profit grew more than expected at 11%. Growth was better across the board with food sales, pharmaceutical sales and front of store sales all advancing more than expected and better than the previous quarter. “Same-store traffic, basket size and item count all increased compared with the same quarter last year,” wrote Desjardin’s Chris Li. Shares are off about 7% from their all-time high drifting lower into the quarter.
Sydney Sweeney effect: American Eagle shares are soaring 18% after announcing an ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. It was also favorably mentioned on WallStreetBets on Reddit – popular place for meme stock pumpery. The stock has had at rough ride down 50% over the past year with about 13% of the shares outstanding short. Sweeney has been open about how brand deals like this are necessary for actresses this day and age because just starring in films doesn’t pay the bills anymore. All I can say is that I hope she took some of her compensation in stock!
Send us your questions on Canadian & US stocks! Email questions@inthemoneypod.com
