In the Money: 5 Things to Know

Historic comeback, Canada GDP falters, Nike soars, Nvidia eyes $4 trillion, SPACs are back

There is a lot people don’t warn you about when it comes to having kids. One of those things is all the paperwork. I am drowning in forms for every single move of their life. Karate? Not without a two-page registration form. Starting a new school in September? I’m on a deadline to fill out forms two months in advance. Summer camp at a school they go to? Better tell us everything we already have on file.

Watch the full episode: Why are the markets at all-time highs when everyone is so stressed out? On this episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar, JoAnne Feeney, Partner & Portfolio Manager at Advisors Capital Management, unpacks what’s really going on beneath the surface of the S&P 500. She’s got an interesting background as a former economist and semiconductor analyst and gives her brutally honest opinion on your favourite stocks.

Revenge rally: US markets are rallying on three factors: increased bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates sooner than anticipated, the US and China agreeing to a trade truce, and an announcement by the US Treasury department that they won’t be including the so-called revenge tax which would give the US ability to counter-tax countries if they felt they were subject to discriminatory taxes. We are headed to a triumphant end to the second quarter and the first half of the year that was marked by bouts of intense volatility, a near correction, and a historic recovery. The S&P 500 has only ever fallen 10% in a quarter and rebounded in the same quarter three times in history. The index is up 23% from the post-Liberation day low. The TSX has also had a stellar time in 2025, hitting record highs and up 8% so far this year. While some European markets are still ahead for 2025, they lost the lead to US equities in the second quarter. US stocks once again regained their dominance. Tech drove the gains with the NASDAQ up 16% in Q2. While bets of interest rate cuts have been dialed up, we just got a read of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge that suggests core inflation is increasing more than expected. At this moment that doesn’t seem to be derailing stocks as it was accompanied by a drop in consumer spending.

Recession watch: Canada’s GDP fell in April and the flash estimate for May suggests activity contracted in May as well. This puts Canada’s GDP on track for contraction in the second quarter as tariffs weighed on economic activity. Tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos hit the manufacturing sector which fell 1.9% – the largest drop in activity since April 2021. “…Q2 GDP is now tracking a modest 0.3% contraction which is between the two scenarios the Bank of Canada laid out in its April MPR (0.0% and -1.3% respectively),” wrote CIBC’s Andrew Grantham, “That’s somewhat supportive of our current call for a July interest rate cut, although upcoming employment and inflation data will be more important in determining whether policymakers feel comfortable making a move at that time.”

Just doing it: Shares of Nike are surging after posting a better than feared quarter. Sales dropped 12%, but that was better than feared and the athletic apparel maker said sales would drop less than expected. Jefferies is calling the quarter an “inflection point.” I love to hear it because I own this one and am down, bad. On the podcast, JoAnne Feeney says she still wouldn’t own Nike here. But Jefferies’ Randal Konik applauds the new management’s efforts to act with urgency to turn the business around. Most analysts are surprised by the magnitude of the progress. “… With the worst of the classic franchise headwinds behind us and orderbooks up, we see the bear case…as much less likely,” wrote Citi’s Paul Lejuez.

$4 trillion dollar watch: Two years ago Nvidia became the first semiconductor company to reach $1 trillion in value and today it sits on the verge of becoming the first company ever to reach $4 trillion. Nvidia is back at record highs after being hobbled by the unveiling of DeepSeek earlier this year. It is a tight race between Microsoft and Nvidia which are both currently worth around $3.7 trillion. It would just take about an 8% rally to get to $4 trillion. “The poster (children) for the AI Revolution are led by Nvidia and Microsoft as both are foundational pieces of building on the biggest tech trend we have seen in our 25 years covering tech stocks on the Street,” wrote Dan Ives of Wedbush.

Spac attack: Shares of gold miner Blue Gold are soaring 520% in the pre-market after its debut on the NASDAQ via a special purpose acquisition vehicle. That’s right, SPACs are BACK. Blue Gold is a gold miner with assets in Ghana. On very light volume, it is poised to be worth more than $1 billion at the market open.