The first trading week of the fourth quarter began on Monday, October 3^rd with investors nervously aware that the markets seemed to have been marking time for the past month or two.

All of which led technical analysts David Tippin & Ron Meisels to comment – “After months of bullishness the markets are having a healthy slowing period with a small downward bias. Like rush hour traffic, this slowdown will clear and the markets will continue on their bullish road.” (To receive the complete report please contact ‘Rod.Blake@canaccord.com).

Ford Motor Co. (F-N), General Motors (GM-N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU-Q) all reported a decline in September vehicle sales.

Aritzia Inc. (ATZ-T) shares rose by over 10^% to $17.71 on its first day of trading as the Vancouver, BC based women’s clothier goes public on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The shareholders’ of Spectral Medical (EDT-T) watched in horror as their investment plunge by 85^% to just $0.24 after the drug company reported disappointing Phase III trial results for its lead endotoxemic septic shock drug Toraymyxin.

Modern computer driven markets can change course very quickly and that was the case on Tuesday, October 4^th when the price of gold bullion fell by over $40 or 3% to US$1,271 but many gold stocks plunged by 10^% or more.

Case in point – Roxgold Inc. (ROG-V) shares’ fell by over 8^% to $1.42 even though the emerging gold miner announced it had achieved commercial production at its Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso..

Canadian bank and home finance stocks fell in tandem after the federal government introduced legislation that will raise the qualifications required for home buyers to obtain government insured mortgages.

Sears Holding (SHLD-Q) announced the retailer was considering offers for its iconic Craftsman tool business.

Just as Canadian financial issues dropped on government intervention, Canadian marijuana stocks seemingly rose in tandem on Wednesday, October 5^th on anticipation of the Canadian federal government legalizing the recreational use of the weed in early 2017.

Similarly, the price of carbon emission specialist DynaCERT (DYA-V) shares’ surged up by 81^% to $0.67 following the Canadian governments announcement of a pending national carbon tax.

Aurina Pharmaceuticals (AUP-T) shares’ rose by almost 16^% to $5.34 on word the company’s voclosporin achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase 2b trial for Lupus Nephritis.

Thursday, October 6^th saw Statistics Canada announce the country’s exports rose by a better than expected 0.6^% in August to $43.4-billion – the 3rd consecutive month of export growth.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department announced their trade deficit rose by 3^% in August to US$40.7-billion.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT-N) lowered its profit forecasts for the next 2-years as the retail giant planned to focus on store remodels and e-commerce growth.

Twitter Inc. (TWTR-Q) shares’ fell by over 2^% to US$5.01 as the market in the near future.

discounted the chances of another company taking over the messaging company anytime soon in the near future.

Friday, October 7^th saw the British pound take a sudden dip in value as computerized traders took just 2-minutes to drive the world’s 4th largest traded currency to a multi-year low before human traders took over and eased the iconic currency back up to near its previous level.

Statistics Canada report that the country created a much better than expected 67,200 new jobs in September and that the country’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.0^%.

Similarly, the U.S. Labor Department reported their economy created 156,000 new jobs in September and that their unemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 5.0^%.

191 airlines of the world’s-countries represented by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreed to a cap-and-trade schedule designed to significantly reduce the airline industry’s emission growth after 2020.

During the week the price of gold bullion fell to a 3^1/2-month low of US$1,270-an-ounce, while crude oil rose to 4-month high of US$50.49-a-barrel and natural gas surged up to a 1^3/4-year high of US$3.19/mmbtu.

Ballard Power Systems (BLD-T) at $3.32, EnCana Corp. (ECA-T) at $14.84 and Trican Well Service (TCW-T) at $3.37 all established new TSX 52-week trading highs while Avigilon Corp. (AVO-T) at $8.35, Cameco Corp. (CCO-T) at $10.43, North West Co. (NWC-T) at $25.13 all dropped to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow industrials fell by 0.37% to 18,240, with the S&P 500 Index down by 0.65% to 2,154 and the NASDAQ Exchange off by 0.38% to 5,292. To the Thanksgiving weekend north, the TSX Composite index dropped by 1.07% to 14,566 and the TSX Venture Exchange was down by 2.80% to 781.

With Commodities – gold bullion fell by 4.56% to US$1,257, with copper down by 1.81% to US$2.17, while crude oil gained 2.90% to US$49.64 and natural gas rose by 9.62% to US$3.19. Overall the CRB Spot Commodity Index improved by 1^% to end the week at 403.

The Canadian dollar lost 1.17% against its American counterpart to finish the week at US$0.7527.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index or VIX rose by 0.16-point to end the week at a slightly more nervous level of 13.45.

And Finally – If you have that continuing feeling that our governments have their hand in your wallet or purse more and more of late – you may be right – as a recent Frazer Institute study found that the average Canadian family now spends more on taxes than they do housing, food and clothing combined.