The new North American trading week began on Monday, August 6^th with the American markets going it alone as their Canadian counterparts enjoyed their summertime Civic long weekend.

Petroleum stockholders were encouraged after the U.S. Administration proposed to cap vehicle fuel economy and pollution levels to those targeted for 2030.

The recent plague of diplomatic sanctions expanded as Canada and Saudi Arabia pull ambassadors and threaten to freeze trade over Canada’s criticism of perceived Saudi civil rights violations.

Leaf Group ‘LFGR-Q’ shares’ fell by over 4^% to US$11.05 after the internet wellness company failed to impress the street with its 2^nd-quarter financials.

Thee lazy days of summer markets were shaken back to life on Tuesday, August 7^th after Tesla Inc. ‘TSLA-Q’ Chairman Elon Musk stated that he intended to take the world’s premier electric vehicle company private at a 20% premium of US$420-a-share.

Kinross Gold ‘K-T’ stock dropped by over 2^% to $4.35 after the long-suffering miner’s 2^nd-quarter financials weren’t up to expectations.

Maxar Technologies ‘MAXR-T’ shares’ fell by 14^% to $49.49 after the aerospace company was sighted in a negative report from Spruce Point Capital Management.

Wednesday, August 8^th saw B2Gold Corp. ‘BTO-T’ have the best of both worlds as the company reported record 2^nd-quarter gold production along with a 17^% drop in the cost of production.

Trinidad Drilling ‘TDG-T’ shares’ rose by over 6.5^% to $1.45 after the company impressed with its 2^nd-quarter financials.

Meanwhile – the price of Abraxas Petroleum ‘AXAS-N’ dropped by 10^% to $2.11 when the producers’ 2^nd-quarter financials failed to meet analysts’ expectations.

The Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported on Thursday, August 9^th that the country’s new housing starts fell by 16.2^% in July to an annualized 206,314 units.

Quebecor Inc. ‘QBR.B-T’ shares’ rose by 5^% to $28.40 after the Quebec based communications company reported better than expected 2^nd-quarter financials.

SailPoint Technologies ‘SAIL-Q’ shares’ rose by 13^% to US$29.90 after the operational efficiency company pleased the street with its 2^nd-quarter financials.

Luxury parka maker Canada Goose ‘GOOS-T’ reported better than expect 2^nd-quarter sales.

Friday, August 10^th began with Statistics Canada reporting the economy added a much higher than expected 54,100 new jobs in July and that the nation’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1^% to a 40-year low of 5.8^%.

Petroleum Industry analyst Baker Hughes ‘BHGE-N’ reported that the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 13-rigs last week to 1,057 active rigs. Meanwhile, the number of Canadian active drilling rigs fell by 14-rigs to 209 active drilling rigs.

based auto dealership company reported less than expected 2^nd-quarter financials as well as an overhaul of its senior management and Board of Directors.

Canadian movie house Cineplex Inc. ‘CGX-T’ bounced back in the 2^ndquarter by reporting record revenue of $09.1-million.

The markets traded cautiously going into the weekend as worries of the Turkish economy weighed on investors enthusiasm.

During the Week – gold bullion fell to a new 1-year low of US$1,218-an-ounce and the CRB Spot Commodity Index dropped to a 1^1/3-year low of 422, while the TSX Venture Exchange hit a new 2-year low of 694.

Canadian Pacific Railway ‘CP-T’ at $264.56, Finning International ‘FTT-T’ at $32.94 and Morguard North American REIT ‘MRG.U-T’ at $15.94 all climbed to new TSX 52-week trading highs while Africa Oil ‘AOI-T’ at $1.10, Barrick Gold ‘ABX-T’ at $14.09 and Turquoise Hill Resources ‘TRQ-T’ at $3.28 all fell to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow Industrials fell by 0.59^% to 25,313, with the S&P 500 off by 0.25^% top 2,833 while the NASDAQ rose by 0.35^% to 7,839. Up north – the TSX Composite lost 0.57^% to 16,327 and the TSX Venture dropped by 1.14^% to 694.

With Commodities – gold bullion lost 0.33^% to US$1,219, as copper fell by 0.72^% to US$2.74, and crude oil fell by 3.30^% to US$66.23 while natural gas gained 3.16^% to US$2.94. Overall, the CRB Spot Commodity Index dropped by 1.17^% to finish the week at 422.

The Canadian dollar lost 0.99^% against its southern cousin to end the week at US$0.7621.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index or VIX rose by 1.40-points to finish the week at a more nervous level of 13.13.

And Finally – Freedom 55 – the idea of retiring at age 55 – seems further and further away as the US Labor Department reported recently that 18.4^% of Americans over the age of 65 are still working or are looking for work a rise by 8.0^% in the past 30-some-years.