New home prices fell short of estimates in July, declining 0.1% M/M versus expectations for a gain of the same size - the fourth straight sequential decline.

On a provincial basis, the print showed improvement over last month - with strength in Quebec and stabilization in the prairies and atlantic partly offsetting continued weakness in Ontario and BC.

But with a growing inventory of unsold units, any sustained recovery in prices will be an uphill battle in the near-term.

Industrial product prices rose 0.7% in July, topping estimates for a 0.3% gain and increasing for the second straight month - thanks to energy products, precious metals, and telecommunications equipment…

… which was led by a ~7% rise in the price of electric wires and cables - the largest gain in over three years, as copper tariffs push end product prices higher.

Input costs beat too, rising 0.3% versus expectations for a 0.5% decline. The print was carried by a >3% gain in animal product prices, the largest in over a year…

… which drove the eighth straight month of growth in meat, fish, and dairy product prices - a key driver of the recent inflation print.

Thoma Bravo is taking Dayforce (DAY) private in a $12.3B deal valuing the company at ~6x NTM EV/Sales - a 30% premium, but still below where peers trade. The purchase price takes advantage of a breakdown in DAY’s historical trading relationship…

… which was driven by a revenue slowdown, as management takes its foot off the gas…

… to focus on profitability, which tends to be when private equity starts circling public software companies.

With Thoma raising nearly $35B for what I can best describe as its “buy old software and slap AI on it” strategy, other Canadian tech names could be in play.

Shares of Clairvest (CVG) lost 6% today on news that real money online gaming (poker) could be banned in India. The private equity shop owns a stake in one of the leading platforms in the country - talk about a bad hand.

It’s no small investment either, at roughly 10% of CVG’s total book value - would hate to be the junior on this file right now…

Flagging the Stantec (STN) buy, as it’s Vito’s (CFO) first this year and his largest on record.

Wanted to flag the $350M takeout of Dream Residential (DRR-U), which comes on the heels of takeout rumours at H&R REIT and the ~$2B privatization of InterRent REIT. It’s clear private markets are willing to pay up for resi real estate assets… let’s see if public markets catch up.

Blackline Safety (BLN) was up 8% on the back of a multi-year purchase agreement from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for up to 28,000 devices plus services. The deal reinforces management’s commentary on international growth…

… and could be a sign of things to come, as BLN looks to diversify its end markets.

Hammond Power (HPS-A) lost 6% as the market weighs the impact of Trump’s expansion of steel & aluminum tariffs, which should hit transformers and add more margin pressure in the near-term.

On a longer time horizon, this could actually work out in Hammond’s favour. The company already did its annual price increase in April, but management highlighted they’d react to the market environment if needed.

The demand for transformers isn’t going anywhere, and with the majority of manufacturing done outside America, this latest move by Trump should raise the floor on prices - as producers try to maintain their unit economics.

It would be unusual for manufacturers to lower prices in the future, so if tariffs are relaxed… the door could be open for margins to take another step higher.

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