The Last trading week of July began on Monday, July 25^th with the major North American markets still at or near multi-month or record highs and investors trying to determine if there was still more upside to come.

Rail car safety equipment manufacturer Kelso Technologies (KLS-T) surged up by over 23% to $1.70 after the Canadian Government announced the fast tracking into service of new and safer TC-117 tank cars.

Eurasian Minerals (EMX-V) shares’ rose by almost 22% to $1.28 after the Russian government approved a work schedule for the company’s Malmyzh copper/gold project in far east Russia.

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO-Q) days seemed to be numbered after telecommunications giant Verizon announced it was acquiring the search engine company in an all-cash deal of some US$4.83-billion.

And the price of Nintendo Co. (NTDOY-Q) stock fell by over 11.5% to US$25.65 after the gaming company said that, contrary to popular belief, it did not actually make the very popular Pokémon GO game.

The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that the 12-month moving average of miles driven in that country rose in June to a record 3.2-billion miles per month.

Tuesday, July 26^thsaw the price of McDonald’s Corp. (MCD-N) trend lower by almost 4.5% to US$121.74 after the world’s largest restaurateur failed to impress the street with its       2nd-quarter financials.

Conversely the price of Texas Instruments (TXN-N) stock rose by almost 8% to a 16-year high of US$71.41 after the chipmaker reported better than expected 2nd-quarter financials.

Ballard Power Systems (BLD-T) shares’ rose another 11% to $2.67 on Wednesday, July 27^th as the original ‘save the planet’ company continued to benefit from its previously announced strategic agreement with China’s Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co.

Twitter Inc. (TWTR-Q) shares’ fell by over 14.5% to US$15.76 after the 140-character company failed to meet the streets’ expectations for 2nd-quarter financials or forward guidance for the rest of the year.

Thursday, July 28^th had Potash Corporation of Canada (POT-T) move lower by 7% to $20.95 after the giant nutrient company reported less than stellar 2nd-quarter financials and worse yet, slashed its quarterly dividend by 60% to just $0.10 and lowered its earnings guidance for the rest of the year.

Conversely, the price of Teck Resources (TCK.B-T) stock rose by over 6.6% to $20.19 after Canada’s largest mining company reported 2nd-quarter financials that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Ford Motor (F-N) shares’ fell by over 8% to US$12.70 after the automaker suggested that U.S. auto sales may have peaked for this expansion cycle.

And Facebook Inc. (FB-N) kept rolling along after the giant social network company reported yet another quarterly report that more than exceeded the streets’ expectations.

The Canadian markets were relatively quiet on Friday, July 29^th going into the Civic Day long weekend.

Statistics Canada reported that due to the destruction of the massive Fort McMurray wildfires  – the country’s gross domestic product or GDP fell in May by an unexpected 0.6% – the worst drop since the financial crisis of 2009.

To the south, the U.S. Commerce Department reported their economy advanced in the 2^nd-quarter by a less than expected 1.2%.

During the Week – The NASDAQ Exchange rose to a new 1-year closing high of 5,168 and the TSX Venture Exchange reached a new 21-month high of 796.

BCE (BCE-T) at $63.41, Norbord Inc. (OSB-T) at $33.10 and Tree Island Steel (TSL-T) at $4.90 all hit new TSX 52-week trading highs while Cameco Corp. (CCO-T) at $12.34, Concordia International (CXR-T) at $22.90, Lightstream Resources (LTS-T) at $0.10 all fell to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow Industrials were lower by 0.75% to 18,432, with the while the S&P 500 Index off slightly by 0.09% to 2,173, while the NASDAQ Exchange gained 1.33% to 5,168. Across the border, the TSX Composite Index was off by 0.12% to 14,583 while the TSX Venture Exchange was up by 3.38% to 796.

With Commodities – gold bullion gained 2.03% to US$1,359, with copper off by 0.20% to US$2.23, while crude oil dropped by 6.13% to US$41.48 and natural gas improved by 2.86% to US$2.86. Overall, the CRB Spot Commodity Index dropped by 1.2% to finish the week at 406.

The Canadian dollar rose by 0.63% against the American dollar to end the week at US$0.7665.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index of VIX was only marginally higher to finish the week at very calm level of 12.05.

And Finally – After thirty some years of capturing images on video tape, Funai Electric, the last remaining manufacturer of the video cassette recorder (VCR) announced that production of the electronic machines that best represented the tech era of the 1980s will cease at the end of this month.