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FinancialPlanning 2026
U.S. stocks drop after Trump ramps up tariffs BY STAN CHOE
was simply going to open a new chapter in the trade saga, not end it,” according to Chris Larkin, managing direc- tor, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. On Wall Street, big losses hit companies under suspicion of getting undercut by AI-pow- ered rivals. Investors have been sharply and suddenly punishing stocks of such com- panies recently. CrowdStrike fell 9.8 per cent to widen its loss for the young year so far to 25.3 per cent. A new tool from Anthropic that scans codebases for security vulnerabilities and suggests targeted software patches for human review has been hit- ting stocks across the cyberse- curity industry. AppLovin sank 9.1 per cent and took its loss for the year to date to 43.5 per cent. It’s among the software compa- nies hurt by worries that AI competition will steal custom- ers and fundamentally reset their industries. Companies that have lent money to software companies whose revenues may be under threat also continued falling, and Blue Owl Capital fell 3.4 per cent to bring its loss for the year so far to 30.1 per cent. More big moves may still be ahead for Wall Street this week, particularly with a profit report from Nvidia coming on Wednesday. Worries are rising that companies like Alphabet and Amazon may be spending so much on Nvidia’s chips that they’ll never be able to recoup their investments through higher productivity and future profits. Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks of airlines fell after heavy snow and high winds cancelled thousands of flights across the busy Northeast. United Airlines lost 5.2 per cent, American Airlines fell 4.9 per cent and Delta Air Lines sank 3.7 per cent. Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States tumbled 16.4 per cent after the Danish drugmaker said a trial for its CagriSema drug showed people lost a smaller percentage of their weight af- ter 84 weeks than with a sim- ilar one made by rival Eli Lilly. Eli Lilly rose 4.9 per cent. All told, the S&P 500 fell 71.76 points to 6,837.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821.91 to 48,804.06, and the Nasdaq composite sank 258.80 to 22,627.27. » The Associated Press
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks slumped Monday after Pres- ident Donald Trump ramped up his newest tariffs, while investors continued to pun- ish companies that could be losers in the artificial-intelli- gence revolution. The S&P 500 fell one per cent after Trump said on Sat- urday that he would place temporary 15 per cent tariffs on other countries. That’s up from the 10 per cent rate he announced Friday following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping “reciprocal” taxes on imports from around the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821 points, or 1.7 per cent, and the Nas- daq composite sank 1.1 per cent. Trump’s quick move toward more aggressive tariffs shows how much uncertainty still hangs over the global econ- omy, even after the Supreme Court said the president lacked the legal authority to institute his sweeping “recip- rocal” tariffs. Beyond a 15 per cent tariff that could last for up to 150 days, unless Congress extends it further, Trump is moving forward on other avenues to place more permanent tariffs on countries and industries. That has trading partners uneasy. South Korea’s trade minister, Kim Jung-kwan, said Monday that uncertainty may worsen if the Trump admin- istration continues imposing new tariffs under alternative laws. To be sure, Monday’s moves for markets weren’t close to as bad as the panic that swept the world in April, when Trump initially announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs. U.S. stocks were modestly higher for a brief moment during the morning. The U.S. dollar’s value edged lower against other cur- rencies. Bitcoin briefly fell be- low US$64,000 but remained above its low point reached earlier this month. Gold con- tinued to rise thanks to its rep- utation as something safer to own during uncertain times. Investors may be sensing it will take a long time, as well as more court battles, before more clarity comes about how global trade will look. “Stocks got a boost Friday from the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, but it quickly be- came clear that the decision
What to do if you face mortgage non-renewal A real estate sold sign is shown in Oakville, Ont., in a 2020 photo. If a homeowner is facing a non-renewal on their mortgage, experts say they have a few options. (The Canadian Press files)
BY DANIEL JOHNSON
Though borrowing costs have come down from their recent peak, the current policy rate sits at 2.25 per cent, about two percentage points higher than where it stood in the early years of the pandemic. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in a recent report that it sees signs of financial stress among home- owners in Toronto and Vancouver, with missed mortgage payments projected to steadily increase, albeit from a low level. The report also said first-time buyers who purchased during the pandemic when interest rates were at historic lows are also showing greater signs of vulner- ability. It said those homeowners took on larger debt levels relative to their income and have limited equity in their homes that were purchased at peak prices. The national housing agency said more than 1.5 million households have already renewed their mortgage at higher inter- est rates, with another million expected to do so in the coming year. If a homeowner is facing a non-renew- al, experts say they have a few options. Zlatkin said that if someone has other people they can add onto the mortgage as a guarantor or co-signer, like a spouse, parent or sibling, that could help with obtaining a renewal. Borrowers could also look to increase their income by renting out part of the home or taking on additional work, she said. Ron Butler, principal broker at Butler Mortgage, said lenders “don’t just ran-
domly non-renew.” “The federal government has made it clear to them that if people are up-to- date in their payments, they should and must provide some sort of renewal ac- commodation,” he said. In addition to boosting income, Butler said paring down debt could also help. “For instance, you have two car loans, maybe you sell one of the cars or retire one of the loans,” he said. However, some homeowners may have to resort to selling their home or obtain- ing a private mortgage, which can come with much higher borrowing costs. For comparison, mortgage rates at a bank could be around four per cent, around five or six per cent at an alterna- tive lender, and roughly nine per cent or higher at a private lender. He said in situations like this, despite the higher costs, it will give the home- owner some time to improve their finan- cial situation, with the goal of being able to return to a traditional lender. Zlatkin said there is currently “no indi- cation” that lenders will be pulling back on renewals this year. “As long as people are making their payments and they’ve not had any ma- jor issues that the bank can identify, and there’s nothing on the credit bureau that’s going to be a negative, most people are not going to have problems on renewal,” she said.
Getting your mortgage renewed can be stressful for some homeowners, but get- ting a non-renewal from your lender can take that stress to a whole new level. As a wave of homeowners who bought at rock-bottom interest rates prepare to renew at higher rates this year, a small number of them will be cut off from their lender. Leah Zlatkin, a licensed mortgage bro- ker and LowestRates.ca expert, said lend- ers often reach out months ahead of the renewal date. “If you are somebody who has had trouble making your payments on time … and they see that there’s a pattern of missed payments on credit cards or neg- ative balances in chequing accounts or negative balances in savings accounts, they may second-guess that renewal, and they may call you to say they’re not renewing your mortgage,” Zlatkin said. Non-renewals are mostly underpinned by financial challenges, but another rea- son for non-renewal could be if the lend- er views the homeowner as what they call a serious character risk. For example, she said a bank may have reservations about renewing a client whose name is in the news regarding a criminal trial for fraud. Over the past few years, the Bank of Canada hiked its key lending rate to quell inflationary pressures after the COVID-19 pandemic.
» The Canadian Press
When to throw in the towel on your side hustle
BY RITIKA DUBEY
When her side business picked up, the multitasking came to a head and she knew she had to decide: make the switch to full-time consultant or walk away entirely. “It started to get to a point where I felt like I was burning out,” she recalled. “Financially, I didn’t feel ready. It also just felt incredi- bly emotional.” Spending endless hours building something you’re passionate about takes per-
severance, but sometimes it doesn’t turn out how you ex- pected. Often, many people trying to build a business feel exhausted or on the brink fi- nancially, but walking away may feel like turning your back on your dreams. Experts say taking an analytical ap- proach can help determine if it’s time to throw in the towel. In Warwick’s case, she laid out a list of conditions to help her make a decision. First, she said, was to set
up cash flow goals with a set timeline. Then, it was time to shore up her emergency fund and finally, draw a road map for building her clientele with set revenue targets. The deadline she gave her- self was a year. “If we didn’t achieve those conditions by the end of 2022, I was going to take some space away and just focus on my role in engineering,” she recalled. The plan worked. With spe- cific goals in mind, Warwick was able to make it happen. Today, the co-CEO of the Thoughtful Co. works with clients including some who find themselves at the same crossroads, debating wheth- er to carry on with their side hustles. It’s important to set up non-negotiables when decid- ing whether to call it quits, she said. When you’re feeling over- whelmed, it can be hard to gauge when to quit, Warwick said. She recommended en- visioning what a balanced life would look like, which could bring clarity. That means defining how much time realistically can be devoted to various aspects of
goal to make it your main job? Usually, there are signs it may be time to step away, said Christen James, a side hustle success coach. “There is some upfront cost, but at some point, you have to recognize when it has become an expensive hobby,” she said. James said if you find your- self pouring a lot of money into the business but hav- en’t built any relationships or found clients despite months of work, it’s likely a sign that it’s time to step away. Often, that decision can take an emotional toll. “There’s a grieving process that will go into it,” James said. But it’s important to give yourself the permission to walk away and not beat your- self up about it. Framing it differently can help cope with the process, such as telling yourself that it isn’t a failure — and even though it didn’t work out, you can take away some lessons from that experience into your next job, James said. Also, celebrate the small wins, she said. “Celebrate that you did the thing, because a lot more peo-
When Warwick started a side hustle a few years ago, the goal was for it to eventually become her main job. Sophie She was working full-time as a structural engineer, and helping to build a consultancy firm that advises employees and companies on diversity, equity and inclusion — on top of juggling the busyness of ev- eryday life.
life: your main job, side hus- tle, self-care and everyday life. Side hustles, by nature, re- quire more effort — it’s in the name. Warwick said the ques- tion is, how long can you sus- tain that for? “Are they comfortable do- ing it for two months, for six months, for a year?” she said. It helps to be clear on what you’re trying to get out of it, Warwick said. Is it going to be a passion project for a bit of extra cash, or is your ultimate Sophie Warwick, co-founder of the Thoughtful Co., says she works with many clients who find themselves debat- ing whether to carry on with their side hustles. (Sophie Warwick)
... Slow Yourfutureisn’tasprint Financialwellbeingisaboutsteadyprogress.Whetherit’salittle oralot,everycontributiontoan RRSP makesadifference.
sunrisecu.mb.ca
ple will never start.” » The Canadian Press
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