Making sense of the markets this week: June 18, 2023 + MORE Jun 17th

As hundreds of wildfires ravage parts of Canada—and their smoke drifts into neighbouring regions, worsening air quality—we’re increasingly feeling the impacts of the climate emergency. Climate change and dry, hot weather have contributed to the “unprecedented” conditions we’re seeing at the start of wildfire season, as government ministers told the media in early June. “It’s a simple fact that Canada’s experiencing the impacts of climate change, including more frequent and more extreme wildfires,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, natural resources minister.

Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, according to a report by the federal government in 2019. The highest temperature increases are in the North, the Prairies and northern B.C. Over time, we’ll see more precipitation, snowstorms, wind, hail, floods, droughts, smog, wildfires and “extreme heat events,” like the heat dome that scorched Lytton B.C., in 2021. That means more weather damage to infrastructure, businesses and homes—and a corresponding rise in insurance claims…

Kyle Prevost, editor of Million Dollar Journey and founder of the Canadian Financial Summit, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.

The U.S. Fed pauses rate hikes—for now

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to pause raising interest rates after 10 consecutive months of hikes and increased pain for borrowers. This decision came on the heels of May’s consumer price index (CPI) report from the Labor Department on Tuesday.

The report revealed the annualized inflation rate now stands at 4%, edging closer to the U.S. Fed’s 2% target, and providing substantial evidence that tighter monetary policy is working. That said, the core inflation measure (which strips out food and energy price movements) was still at a worrisome 5.3%.  

Source: CNBC

Gasoline, health insurance, airline fees, appliances and vehicle prices were all down substantially from a year ago. Whereas food, services and shelter were the main drivers for inflation…