Rising Yields, Meta Leads the Way, and Central Banks in Focus — Weekly Market Update

“It’s not whether you’re right or wrong, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.”
–– George Soros

 

Last Week’s Overview

Source: Bloomberg (September 10, 2026)

Weekly Insights

Each week, we break down the key events and market movements shaping the investing landscape. From economic data to investor sentiment and global headlines, this section captures what mattered most and how it impacted markets.

Bond Yields Rise, Creating Better Income Opportunities

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed as high as 4.93% this week, with yields moving higher across bonds of every maturity as investors adjusted their expectations for inflation and interest rates. For anyone putting new money to work, this means high-quality government bonds are now offering close to 5% income, some of the most attractive yields we have seen in years, without needing to take on additional credit risk. Rising rates can create short-term price movement, but they meaningfully improve the long-term return potential of the bond side of your portfolio, which is exactly why we continue to hold diversified, high-quality fixed income.

Source: Bloomberg (September 10, 2026)

AI Investment Broadens Well Beyond Technology

Investment in artificial intelligence continues to expand far past software and into semiconductors, data centres, power generation, and electrical grids; one Goldman Sachs estimate suggests the buildout could require roughly $7.6 trillion by 2031. What we find encouraging is that large institutional investors are responding to this growth by asking for more detail and applying more discipline rather than stepping away, a healthy sign that the opportunity is maturing. For portfolios, this means AI is becoming an economy-wide investment theme touching technology, utilities, industrials, and real assets, and we continue to favour financially strong companies with durable, long-term demand.

Source: Bloomberg (September 10, 2026)

Inflation Picture Stays More Moderate Beneath the Headline

U.S. producer prices rose 0.4% in August, though the increase was driven largely by energy and transportation costs, while the core measure that strips those categories out rose a more moderate 0.2%. Other details were reassuring: wholesale and retail trade margins actually edged lower, and weekly unemployment claims held steady at 206,000, suggesting price pressures are not building broadly across the economy. This distinction matters for portfolios, because a temporary, energy-led move in headline inflation does not change the longer-term trend, and it reinforces our focus on companies with strong margins, pricing power and healthy balance sheets.

Source: Bloomberg (September 10, 2026)

Key Drivers of Our Outperformance

We believe in transparency when it comes to where outperformance is coming from. This section spotlights a top-performing company we hold, a sector where we've taken a winning position, and a strategy that has driven recent success across our portfolios.

• Company Highlight:  Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
  
  
• Meta was our strongest contributor last week, gaining 10.26%. The catalyst was Muse, Meta's new personal AI assistant, which reached the top three of the U.S. App Store within days of launch and gave investors their first tangible proof that the company's heavy AI spending can produce products people genuinely want to use. J.P. Morgan responded by upgrading the stock and raising its price target to $820, pointing to new subscription and commerce revenue that sits outside Meta's traditional advertising business. While we continue to monitor adoption and the cost of that AI investment, this is exactly the type of company we like to own: one with an enormous existing customer base and the balance sheet strength to turn new technology into new revenue.
  
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• Source: Optimize Asset Management (September 10, 2026)

• Sector Highlight: Communication Services
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• Our Communication Services holdings delivered the strongest sector contribution to the portfolio last week. However, this was a story of selection rather than a rising tide, with Meta's advance more than offsetting softer results from Alphabet, Disney, AT&T, and Verizon. The broader sector was slightly lower over the week through September 9, which makes the contribution all the more valuable: it came from owning the right company at the right moment, not from simply being present in the sector. Meta's Muse launch also points to something bigger, as the largest digital platforms find new ways to earn revenue from their audiences beyond advertising alone, and with regulation and large AI budgets separating the leaders from the rest, we intend to stay selective here.
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• Source: Optimize Asset Management (September 10, 2026)
  

• Style Highlight: Momentum
  
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• Our Momentum strategy held up best, as shifting expectations for interest rates moved markets in both directions. Strength in Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Digital Realty helped cushion weakness elsewhere in the group, showing that investors continued to reward companies with proven price and earnings momentum even as broader conditions turned less friendly. Momentum still finished the week with a modest negative contribution overall, and whether it continues to lead will depend on those recent winners sustaining their progress in a higher-yield environment, which is precisely why we balance it alongside our other strategies rather than relying on any single approach.
  

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  Source: Optimize Asset Management (September 10, 2026)
  

  
  
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What To Look For Next Week

We also look ahead to the economic reports, events, and earnings that may influence the week ahead. From inflation and jobs data to corporate updates from key market players, this section keeps you informed on what's coming and why it matters.

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• Canadian Inflation Data (Monday, September 14): Monday brings the latest read on Canadian consumer prices, the single most important input into the Bank of Canada's interest rate decisions. The most recent report showed headline inflation at 3.0%, up slightly from 2.8%, driven almost entirely by gasoline prices, while the core measures the Bank of Canada watches most closely sat at just 2.0% and 1.9%, and prices for food and shelter both eased. That gap between the headline number and the underlying trend is what we will be watching, because if core inflation stays near 2%, it gives the Bank of Canada more room to support the economy, which tends to be good news for both Canadian bonds and dividend-paying stocks.
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  Source: Statistics Canada (September 10, 2026)
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• U.S. Federal Reserve Meeting (Wednesday, September 16): Wednesday afternoon brings the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting, the most closely watched event on the calendar for both stock and bond investors. Heading in, officials have been focused on whether financial conditions are tight enough to bring inflation down, with some noting that markets are already doing part of that work for them. More recent data showing cooler employment and inflation may give the Fed room to strike a less cautious tone than markets currently expect, and any signal about the path ahead can move prices quickly.
  
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  Source:  Federal Reserve (September 10, 2026)
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• U.S. Housing Starts (Thursday, September 17): Thursday's housing starts report tells us how many new homes American builders are beginning construction on, which is one of the earliest and clearest signals of economic confidence. The last reading came in soft, with starts falling 12.4% to an annualized 1.239 million units, weakness in both multi-unit and single-family construction, and declines across the Midwest, South and West offset only partly by a 17.1% gain in the Northeast. Housing is highly sensitive to interest rates, so this report gives us an early view of how higher borrowing costs are working through the economy, and it helps us judge the outlook for real estate, construction, building materials, and the banks that lend to them.
  
  Source: U.S. Census Bureau (September 10, 2026)

Source of All Economic Data:  Bloomberg

Disclaimer: This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please consult with your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.