The unemployment rate held steady at 6.9% in July, beating estimates for an increase to 7%…

… despite a big miss on the change in employment, with 51K full-time jobs lost…

… across a number of industries including information, construction, management services, and health care.

The reason this employment miss didn’t ding the unemployment rate was a drop in workforce participation to 65.2%. Down only slightly Y/Y, the decrease isn’t ringing any alarm bells…

… but it’s likely a symptom of the highest structural unemployment we’ve seen since 1998 (excluding the pandemic), with nearly a quarter of unemployed people having been so for more than 27 weeks.

It looks like America’s biggest chip makers have access to the Chinese market again, so long as 15% of revenue from the region is paid to Uncle Sam.

With the Chinese volume NVDA and AMD did in their last fiscal year, the export tax would bring in roughly $3.5B per year (reality is lower as it’s linked to specific AI chips)…

… but I’m more interested in whether this is the start of a broad shift by the administration to target goods leaving the country rather than those coming in.

Flagging the buying at GO REIT, which follows some weakness in shares (down 15%) after the IPO a couple weeks ago.

The Tourmaline (TOU) buying is also interesting, as Mike (founder & CEO) has been steadily adding shares in recent years in ~$300K chunks - so this $6.9M buy is well above his normal size and comes after a ~10% post-earnings drawdown.

The sell-off was likely guidance-driven, as management pointed to lower full-year production due to weakness in gas pricing and an increased CapEx plan linked to its $290M acquisition of Groundbirch from Strathcona.

With LNG Canada ramping up through the beginning of 2026, next year could bring a more constructive pricing environment - Mr. Rose is likely counting on it.

Leon’s Furniture (LNF) got a 6% lift on earnings, which came in well ahead of expectations on the back of continued same-store sales growth - thanks to a stronger inventory position and improved furniture sales.

Management increased the dividend by 20%, supported by a sub-40% payout ratio and a net cash position of nearly $200M…

… which should grow if the company does a real estate carve out - taking a page out of the Empire, Loblaw, and Canadian Tire playbook.

Sun Life Financial (SLF) fell 8% on a post-Q2 downgrade, driven by a weaker outlook for its U.S. dental business - with management dropping its earnings guide below $100M for the year and pulling its $250M target for 2029.

The segment headwinds were felt on three fronts: a $60M impairment charge linked to the early termination of a contract, slower repricing of rates by state authorities, and higher claims activity as people front-run a potential loss in coverage.

With >$3B of intangibles & goodwill linked to SLF’s $3.1B DentaQuest acquisition, investors are likely worried that continued challenges will result in a write-down. But with SLF shedding $4B in market cap on Friday…

… trading at a discount on forward earnings, and having a pretty strong capital cushion, there’s likely upside if the company can mitigate these near-term headwinds - considering U.S. dental accounts for <5% of earnings.

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