Sean Conlon, Hugh Leask, Justina Lee and Sarah Min of CNBC report the S&P 500 rises to record close Friday and posts strongest week since April: 

The S&P 500 rose on Friday as traders interpreted an unexpected loss of jobs in July as meaning the Federal Reserve won’t need to raise interest rates soon and can leave monetary policy on hold for now.

The broad market index advanced 0.62% for a record close of 7,757.64, while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed, climbing 1.3% to 26,690.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 151.83 points, or 0.28%, to end at 54,036.93.

Stocks posted a second straight week of gains. The S&P 500 — which closed above 7,700 for the first time ever earlier this week — advanced 3.6% in the period. The Nasdaq saw a gain of 5.2%, thanks to a bounce-back in chip stocks. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) ended the week up more than 7%. The Dow, on the other hand, gained nearly 3% during the week. All three indexes notched their best weekly performances since April.

July’s nonfarm payrolls report showed a drop of 23,000 jobs, while economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a gain of 83,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% as the labor force participation rate fell to its lowest level in more than five years. Economists had expected it to remain unchanged at 4.2%.

A majority of fed funds futures traders now expect that the central bank will hold its benchmark lending rate at the current 3.50% to 3.75% at the next policy meeting in September, per the CME FedWatch tool. Just a day ago, traders were pricing in a 55% chance of a quarter-point hike.

“For the job market this is a number that’s not booming and may actually be breaking, but for the markets the two biggest areas of concern were yields and inflation,” Saira Malik, Nuveen chief investment officer, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “This lower number helps not reinforce the Fed’s narrative that they need to raise interest rates.”

Software stocks helped lead the market higher Friday as the latest round of earnings dispelled fears that artificial intelligence would disrupt the industry. Cloudflare popped more than 5% after the cloud cybersecurity company issued a solid full-year and current-quarter outlook. Shares of Atlassian jumped 35% after the company’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue surpassed expectations and issued upbeat guidance.

Airbnb shares also rallied 17% after the vacation rental company posted a beat on the top and bottom lines.

Oil prices, meanwhile, were slightly higher as investors awaited a potential deal from the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told CNBC earlier in the week that the two sides could reach a deal soon.

West Texas Intermediate futures for September delivery were up 1.15%, settling at $78.18 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 1.29% to settle at $83.55.

“The conclusion is that a resolution will be forthcoming in the not too distant future, and if those conditions change, then you’re going to see angst crawl back into the market,” said Terry Sandven, U.S. Bank Asset Management’s chief equity strategist. “But at present, the wall of worry is crumbling.” 

This was a fantastic week in the US stock market, led by -- you guessed it -- momentum stocks that were recently clobbered and snapped back viciously:

Just have a look at today's top gainers in the stock market (full list here): 

 And have a look at this week's top-performing US large cap stocks (full list here):

You'll see stocks like Atlassian Corp (TEAM), Twilio (TWLO), SpaceX, Palantir (PLTR), Paycom Software (PAYC), Shopify (SHOP), and Ionq Inc (IONQ)  all posted huge gains.

SpaceX (SPCX) came back strong in the latter half of the week after getting clobbered on Wednesday when it reported its first earnings report (it was down a lot prior to then).

When I see these hyper-growth stocks ripping higher, it tells me this market is on RISK ON mode, it wants to make new highs. 

Last week, it was all about Situational Awareness and how that fund imploded.  

I told my readers to pay attention to Aschenbrenner’s positions, all 34 of them available here. 

The short covering we saw last week, carried into this week.

So, what's next?

Again, look at the daily chart of the momentum ETF:

Massive short covering over the past two weeks led to the pop; that's clear to me.

Going forward, it has to sustain a move above its 50-day moving average to create a new uptrend.

The problem?  As stocks make record highs, bullish sentiment reigns.

This morning, I read that the Bank of America sentiment gauge hit its most extreme level since 2021.

That isn't good news from a contrarian standpoint; it means too many investors see things as very rosy.

But on the flip side, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted the US helped Japan support the yen, and that may end up shaping market behavior. 

There's a lot of liquidity and leverage out there, supporting all risk assets, not just stocks.

Below, the CNBC Investment Committee debate what catalysts the market needs to get the S&P to 8,000 by year-end (from Thursday's show).

Also, Tom Lee joined CNBC on August 6 to make the case that the chase toward 8,000 is already underway.

Lastly, John Belton, Gabelli Funds growth equities portfolio manager, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest market trends, key takeaways from earnings season, and more.

Peter Rubinstein of Northeastern Global News reports this student wowed one of Canada’s largest pension funds with custom automation:

When Darhlilove Botchway arrived in wintery Toronto in 2025 from his home in Ghana, he felt like a fish out of water. The subfreezing temperatures shocked his system, which was accustomed to West Africa’s consistent heat. Canadian cuisine was also unfamiliar to him, he said.

“My taste buds did not really want to cope from the beginning,” he said, chuckling as he recalled his move to pursue an information systems master’s degree at Northeastern University in Toronto.

But just as he did after moving to North America, Botchway was quick to adapt and excel as a co-op at OPTrust, a prominent pension fund just a short walk from Northeastern Toronto’s downtown campus. 

OPTrust, where Botchway is an IT auditor, is responsible for ensuring that about 118,000 workers employed by the Ontario government and other agencies receive retirement benefits. 

Just as those public service employees rely on OPTrust to manage their earnings, the company leans on auditors like Botchway to ensure its operational security is airtight, he said. Botchway is tasked with identifying and mitigating security risks, creating processes and controls to shore up potential weak points in the company’s software infrastructure.

“Anything that goes wrong, especially with our critical business applications, could have a very devastating impact on our financial reporting at the end of the year, and that could really affect the organization,” Botchway said. “It really puts you in a position where, even as a developer, right from the onset, you begin to think about what could possibly go wrong: how could someone break into the system?”

Botchway said his role is important because of the high-stakes financial landscape OPTrust occupies. By the end of 2025, the company held more than $27 billion in net assets, earning it a coveted spot among the 10 largest pension funds in Canada, which are nicknamed the “Maple Revolutionaries.”

As he grew familiar with the role and its responsibilities, Botchway said he also took the initiative to think up other ways to optimize the company’s workflow. He drew from his previous automation experience at KPMG Ghana, a network of audit, tax and advisory firms, to streamline two particularly time-consuming processes at OPTrust.

For instance, Botchway constructed an automation tool that pings the person scheduled to host a daily meeting, shares details about the meeting’s contents and provides helpful links to resources they can use to plan their presentation. He also made a previously manual task obsolete by building an automated delivery service that sends a monthly report with status updates on ongoing tickets to OPTrust’s management team.

Botchway’s supervisor at OPTrust said that he consistently distinguished himself through “exceptional initiative, a proactive work ethic, and a strong problem-solving mindset,” according to Himadri Dave, a co-op adviser at Northeastern’s Toronto campus. “Rather than simply completing assigned tasks, Darhlilove regularly seeks out additional responsibilities, volunteers for new challenges, and looks for ways to improve processes for the benefit of the team,” the supervisor told Dave in a report during his co-op.

Because of his exemplary work in risk mitigation and his forward-thinking implementation of automation to streamline various internal processes, OPTrust offered Botchway a rare eight-month extension of his co-op placement, which would have otherwise only been four months.

“I think the best feedback we have received from any employer has been for Darhlilove,” said Dave, who worked closely with Botchway on his professional development. “They were even asking us if there’s a way they could keep him forever and not let him go back to the university.”

As for Botchway, he found a way around the cold. He found an underground tunnel system that kept him warm on his route to campus and swiftly came to appreciate the city’s cultural diversity, he said.

Botchway also said his introduction to Toronto company culture and the ways in which teams with different responsibilities work together have been his greatest takeaways from Northeastern.

The auditing and risk mitigation skills gained through his co-op will carry him forward as he pursues a Certified Information Systems Auditor certification before his graduation in May 2027, he said.

“That’s something I’m really proud of because I know how difficult it is, especially in my position, to extend a contract,” Botchway said of his time with OPTrust. “For someone to have that level of confidence in you, I don’t take that lightly.” 

I love this story and want to share it with my readers.

Why? Because Darhlilove Botchway represents the very best possible co-op student a large pension fund can ask for, and OPTrust rightly rewarded him by extending his contract by eight months, which is very rare.

A native from Ghana, he moved to Toronto in 2025 to pursue an information systems master’s degree at Northeastern University in Toronto.

What I love the most about him is his entrepreneurial attitude and willingness to challenge the status quo to improve the way things work at OPTrust:

For instance, Botchway constructed an automation tool that pings the person scheduled to host a daily meeting, shares details about the meeting’s contents and provides helpful links to resources they can use to plan their presentation. He also made a previously manual task obsolete by building an automated delivery service that sends a monthly report with status updates on ongoing tickets to OPTrust’s management team.

Botchway’s supervisor at OPTrust said that he consistently distinguished himself through “exceptional initiative, a proactive work ethic, and a strong problem-solving mindset,” according to Himadri Dave, a co-op adviser at Northeastern’s Toronto campus. “Rather than simply completing assigned tasks, Darhlilove regularly seeks out additional responsibilities, volunteers for new challenges, and looks for ways to improve processes for the benefit of the team,” the supervisor told Dave in a report during his co-op.

When co-op students ask me how they can get a co-op job at one of Canada's largest pension funds, I tell them straight out: "You need to network and differentiate yourself."

I also add: "You have to be lucky, landing these jobs isn't easy, so don't take it personally if you can't land one right away." 

But getting a co-op job is one thing; impressing your boss and others at the organization you work at is far more important. 

You need to take initiative, figure out how to make things run better and it's fine if your boss takes all the glory, even though I'm a big believer in giving credit to the people who deserve it (I loathe bosses who do not give credit to their employees when they deserve it).

To all co-op students, please stop asking me if you should work at BCI, La Caisse, PSP, CPP Investments, or at any other large Canadian pension fund.

First, get a job, and then if you land a job, keep your head down, work hard, and seek to add value to the team where you're working in a proactive, collaborative, and constructive way.

Also, listen and learn from people around you, soak up as much as possible, especially if you're lucky enough to have great mentors. 

In short, learn from Darhlilove Botchway, his attitude and gratitude are spot on.

OPTrust is lucky to have such a co-op student working in IT audit.  

Below, Richard Knight, Principal, and US IT Internal Audit Solutions Leader at KPMG, emphasizes how the internal auditor of tomorrow will need to possess a blend of business and IT skills, with a strong foundation in emerging technologies such as AI and data analysis, requiring a more rounded and integrated approach to auditing.

Freschia Gonzales of Benefits and Pensions Monitor reports Canada's private sector shed 25,800 pension members in 2024:

Canada's private sector lost 25,800 registered pension plan members in 2024 even as national membership climbed to nearly 7.4m, exposing a widening split between public and private workplace retirement coverage. 

The overall gain of 132,000 members, or 1.8 percent, from 2023 came almost entirely from public plans.  

According to Statistics Canada, public sector plans added nearly 157,900 participants, a 4 percent increase, taking the public total to just over 4m. 

Private sector membership, by contrast, fell 0.8 percent, dipping below 3.3m. 

Coverage is thinning even as the raw numbers grow.  

The pension coverage rate, or the share of paid workers who belong to a plan, slipped to 37.6 percent in 2024 from 37.7 percent a year earlier, extending a decline that the agency traces back to 1977. 

Defined benefit membership drove the private sector drop.  

DB membership fell by 21,300, or 1.6 percent, over the year, a decline concentrated among private employers.  

Even so, DB plans remained the dominant structure, holding 68.1 percent of all RPP membership and more than 5m active members, as reported by Statistics Canada.  

Steve Hatzipantelis, vice-president of wealth at Ontario-based credit union YNCU, blamed cost for the shift.  

He said private employers have cut DB plans by about 1.6 percent, moving away from "costly defined benefit structures" toward defined contribution and other models. 

Daniel LeBlanc, portfolio manager at wealth management firm Verecan, tied the divergence to how each sector treats retirement.  

Public sector pensions "remain a key part of employee compensation and retirement security," he said.  

Private employers, by contrast, face plans that "are expensive to administer" and have moved toward alternatives such as Group RRSPs. 

Total contributions to registered plans still rose.  

Employers and employees together put in $83.6bn in 2024, up $4.2bn or 5.4 percent from 2023, the data show.  

Women continue to anchor the DB base, holding 56.1 percent of DB membership, a share weighted toward the public sector plans in health care, education, and public administration.  

The erosion of private DB coverage lands as Canadians report rising unease about retirement.  

In its 2026 Canadian Retirement Survey, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan found that only 58 percent of unretired Canadians have saved for retirement at any point, fewer than half saved in the past year, and 38 percent say they are falling behind on their current standard of living, up eight points from 2025.  

Workplace pensions are viewed as a hedge: 68 percent said such plans are more valuable in uncertain times, and 85 percent said all workers should have access to an affordable retirement savings arrangement, HOOPP reported.  

Canada's DB base still dwarfs that of its largest trading partner.  

South of the border, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, as of March 2025, 72 percent of private industry workers had access to retirement benefits, but only 14 percent had access to a defined benefit plan against 70 percent with access to a defined contribution plan.  

The contrast underlines how far the US private sector has already moved toward DC, and the direction Canadian critics say private employers are travelling.  

LeBlanc said workers without a pension can copy its mechanics. 

Those in a plan have contributions "automatically deducted from their pay," he said, and others can do the same with recurring contributions to an RRSP or TFSA.  

Hatzipantelis added that "the earlier (you start) the better," since it builds the discipline a sound retirement requires. 

I already covered the HOOPP and Abacus Data 2026 Canadian retirement survey here.

Recall the key points:

63% of people between the ages of 55-64 say they don’t feel prepared for retirement.

57% of respondents said one of the reasons they have not been able to save for retirement is that they live paycheque to paycheque.

43% felt they may never be able to retire because of their financial situation, while 50% said they would need to continue working in their retirement years to support themselves financially.

41% of respondents who are homeowners plan to rely on the sale of their home as part of their retirement planning, but 60% are worried about their ability to pay off their mortgages in time so they can retire when they want to.

71% of respondents aged 18-34 who don’t own a home felt higher interest rates will impact their ability to buy a home in the future; 84% of that group also said they were concerned about the increasing cost of rent. 

Clearly, there is a widening retirement gap in Canada between private and public sector employees. 

The latter have access to gold-plated DB plans backed by the municipal, provincial, or federal government, whereas the former are increasingly being asked to switch to a group RRSP, if they're lucky.

These figures are important to track.

From a public policy perspective, the more Canadians who retire with a DB plan, the better it is for our economy over the long run. 

Why? Certainty of income in their golden years allows them to spend more, governments reap more taxes, and it's just generally better for the economy. 

Conversely, increasing retirement angst has the opposite effect on our economy as people spend less.

"Leo, it doesn't matter. Haven't you ever heard of the trickle-down theory?"

Yes, I have and it doesn't work to bolster retirement systems or economic prosperity in general.

Canada has some of the best DB pension plans in the world but overall coverage remains abysmal, especially for private sector workers.

CAAT Pension Plan, OPTrust, HOOPP and others are doing their part to improve coverage but the trend is clearly showing loss of DB pensions in the private side.

Keep that in mind, it's an important trend.

Below, everything you need to know about Canada's government pensions: CPP, OAS & GIS.

Josh Welsh of Benefits and Pensions Monitor reports IMCO adds $300 million in pension assets with Hamilton mandate:

The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) has been selected to manage approximately $300 million in pension assets for the City of Hamilton, consolidating three legacy defined benefit (DB) plans that cover more than 1,000 retirees, deferred members and beneficiaries, according to its press release Thursday.

According to the organization, the mandate will require an onboarding process during which IMCO will work with the city on investment decision-making and transition planning for the legacy portfolios

The mandate marks the first time one of Ontario's largest municipalities has outsourced legacy pension fund management to IMCO. The arrangement covers only the city's closed legacy plans, which are distinct from its “open” pension fund managed separately by another manager, according to IMCO. Hamilton's active pension fund will continue to be managed separately by another provider, the firm added. 

"The City of Hamilton's decision reflects the strength of our investment platform," said Bert Clark, president and CEO of IMCO. "We provide our clients with an end-to-end, cost-effective investment solution. Expert governance, strong liquidity and risk management, and high-quality reporting and disclosure are essential to managing public funds effectively.”

Growing municipal interest in pooled investment platforms

Hamilton's move follows a pattern of Ontario broader public sector organizations shifting pension investment management to IMCO rather than running it in-house. The City of Ottawa's OC Transpo Employees' Pension Plan is already an IMCO client, as are the Ontario Pension Board (OPB), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the WISE Trust Pension Plan, the Provincial Judges' Pension Board, Ontario's Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund, Tarion Warranty Corporation and the Ontario Clean Water Agency.

Complexity driving outsourcing decisions

Clark pointed to rising investment complexity as a factor pushing more public sector organizations toward external management.

"Many Ontario public sector organizations whose core mandate is not investing continue to manage public funds directly," he said. "But, in an increasingly complex investment environment, more are recognizing the value of joining IMCO."

IMCO, which manages $90.7 billion in total assets, operates on a not-for-profit, cost-recovery basis. It offers clients asset mix advisory services, access to a diversified range of asset classes including private markets and alternatives, and portfolio-level risk management and reporting. 

Last week, IMCO issued a press release stating it has added the City of Hamilton as a new client, expanding its public sector investment partnerships across Ontario:

TORONTO (July 30, 2026) – The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”) today announced that it has been selected to provide investment management services to the City of Hamilton, supporting the long-term sustainability of the City's pension obligations.

“The City of Hamilton's decision reflects the strength of our investment platform. We provide our clients with an end-to-end, cost-effective investment solution,” said Bert Clark, President and CEO, IMCO.

Following an evaluation process, IMCO was selected to manage approximately $300 million in assets for the City of Hamilton. The mandate consolidates three legacy plans supporting more than 1,000 retirees, deferred members and beneficiaries. The mandate is focused specifically on legacy pension funds, which are distinct from its “open” pension fund managed separately by another manager. IMCO will work with the City on onboarding and investment decision-making.

With the addition of the City of Hamilton, IMCO continues to expand its role as a trusted partner to public sector institutions across Ontario. IMCO provides its clients with access to asset mix advisory services, a full range of asset classes and comprehensive risk, portfolio management and reporting services, all on a cost-recovery basis.

IMCO's growing roster of clients includes:

• Ontario Pension Board (“OPB”), administrator of the Public Service Pension Plan
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), Insurance and Loss of Retirement Income funds
• WISE Trust Pension Plan, administrator of the WSIB Employees’ Pension Plan
• Provincial Judges’ Pension Board, administrator of the Provincial Judges’ Pension Plan
• Ontario's Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF)
• City of Ottawa, administrator of the OC Transpo Employees’ Pension Plan
• Tarion Warranty Corporation’s Guarantee Fund (Tarion)
• Ontario Clean Water Agency’s (OCWA) reserve fund

“Many Ontario public sector organizations whose core mandate is not investing continue to manage public funds directly. But, in an increasingly complex investment environment, more are recognizing the value of joining IMCO,” continued Clark.

“Expert governance, strong liquidity and risk management, and high-quality reporting and disclosure are essential to managing public funds effectively.”

About IMCO

The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”) manages $90.7 billion of assets on behalf of its clients. Designed exclusively to drive better investment outcomes for Ontario's broader public sector, IMCO operates under an independent, not-for-profit, cost recovery structure. We provide leading investment management services, including portfolio construction advice, better access to a diverse range of asset classes and sophisticated risk management capabilities. As one of Canada's largest institutional investors, we invest around the world and execute large transactions efficiently. Our scale gives clients access to a well-diversified global portfolio, including sought-after private and alternative asset classes. Follow us on LinkedIn and X @imcoinvest. 

I'm going to briefly go over my thoughts here.

First, and most importantly, I agree with IMCO's CEO Bert Clark:

“Many Ontario public sector organizations whose core mandate is not investing continue to manage public funds directly. But, in an increasingly complex investment environment, more are recognizing the value of joining IMCO. Expert governance, strong liquidity and risk management, and high-quality reporting and disclosure are essential to managing public funds effectively.”

In short, there are a lot of public sector organizations in Ontario that have no business whatsoever managing a pension plan, and their members would be better served over the long run by IMCO or another well-governed DB pension plan.

Let me be frank here, Canada as a whole has way too many small to medium-sized public pension funds that would be better served by a larger pension platform (larger pension fund) with solid governance.

I'm a big believer in amalgamation when it makes perfect sense from an administrative and performance view.

I covered IMCO's 2025 results back in April here.  

For the most part, it's a solid pension fund that is run well. 

Is it perfect? No, none of them are, but when compared to the alternatives at the municipal level, no doubt in mind members are better off joining IMCO if they have a small plan managed internally (if they're with OMERS, stay the course).

IMCO is unique among the bigger Canadian pension funds in that it still has to fight to get new clients.

A $300 million mandate from the City of Hamilton is a big mandate, even if it's focused specifically on legacy pension funds, which are distinct from its “open” pension fund managed separately by another manager.

With scale, IMCO becomes larger, can negotiate better terms and be involved in bigger deals, especially on co-investments to reduce fee drag.

Lastly, I will mention that Jennifer Hartviksen, former Head of Global Credit at IMCO, has left the organization to become the Head of Global  Fixed Income at TD Asset Management.

Fernando Martinez has replaced her, and I wish them both well in their new roles. 

Below, Amy Wu Silverman, RBC Capital Markets head of derivatives strategy, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss hyperscalers after second-quarter earnings season, AI and more.

And Ed Yardeni, Yardeni Research, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss Yardeni's outlook for equity markets, earnings estimates and much more.