Gold is Already Bullish Today — tradeCompass Levels for Sept 19, 2025

Canadian retail sales made up for the worst start to a third quarter since 2022 with a relatively healthy gain last month.

An advance estimate suggests receipts for retailers grew 1% in August, wiping out July’s 0.8% decline, according to Statistics Canada data Thursday. Sales also fell 0.8% in volume terms in July, and when auto sales were excluded, receipts slid 1.2%.

The statistics agency didn’t provide details for the August estimate, which is based on responses from just more than half of companies surveyed. But it correctly projected the extent of July’s drop, which also matched the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The report suggests Canadian consumption — which was stronger than expected in the second quarter even as gross domestic product contracted — remains resilient. The Bank of Canada, however, expects slow population growth and labor market weakness to weigh on household spending in the months ahead.

In July, sales were down in eight of nine subsectors, with food retailers leading the decreases. Core retail sales, which exclude gas stations and car dealers, were down 1.2%.

Supermarkets and grocers saw receipts drop 2.5% that month, although beer, wine and liquor stores saw sales jump 3.2%.

While Canadians cut back on clothing and accessories with a 3.2% decline, they appeared to still be buying cars, with those dealers seeing a 0.2% increase.

Regionally, the figures showed different patterns in spending. Half of the 10 Canadian provinces saw sales decrease, led by Ontario, the most populous province and the country’s manufacturing heartland hit hard by auto and steel tariffs.

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba, on the other hand, saw increases in retail sales. Sales in Saskatchewan were unchanged.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

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Futures steady

Trump-Xi phone call expected

FedEx quarterly returns top estimates

Lennar profit slumps

Bank of Japan keeps rates steady

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The European Union proposed a complete ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas from Jan. 1, 2027, as part of its latest measures to curb President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

The EU also proposed a full transaction ban on more Russian banks and financial institutions as well as trade restrictions on entities in China and India, which have enabled Moscow to get around the bloc’s sanctions.

The shift comes just days after US President Donald Trump called on the EU to step up pressure on Russia’s energy trade. The EU was originally planning to phase out Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027.

“Russia is showing the full extent of its contempt for diplomacy and international law,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels Friday.

The global gas market is expected to start shifting into a surplus in the second half of next year, reducing the risk that the phaseout of Russian gas could put pressure on European supplies and lead to price spikes. This is a key factor for the EU to determine when it can cut out Russian energy.

The new sanctions package represents a more finely honed approach for the EU, which is responding to Moscow’s intensified attacks on Ukraine and Russia’s recent drones incursion into Poland. EU sanctions require unanimous adoption by member states.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

As noted before, the “alternative energy” movement, rather than positioning itself as a partner with conventional energy, is instead devoted to the complete demise of reliable and affordable energy resources while framing itself as the only path forward. But there are three ongoing developments providing reasons to believe that its efforts are doomed to failure.

“Green” movement in retreat

“Renewables” are facing a combination of political and legal headwinds. With the election of Donald Trump as president and the pro-traditional energy Republicans now in Congress, the gravy train that was once rolling full steam ahead has come to an abrupt halt, leaving the “renewables” movement feeling stranded.“The morale is destroyed,” Ramon Cruz, a former president of the Sierra Club recently told the New York Times. “I won’t try to sugar coat it. This is a generational loss.”

“With one election and one bill (Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” domestic legislation), most of the signature climate work that organizations, advocates and movements have been working toward is largely undone,” added Ruthy Gourevitch, a policy director at the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive research organization.

The legal hurdles facing the movement are daunting as well. As the Times reported, Greenpeace is facing nearly $670 million in damages from losing a lawsuit brought by Energy Transfer Partners, which accused the group of “an unlawful and violent scheme” to incite demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline.Meanwhile, the Sierra Club recently fired its executive director following budget deficits and numerous layoffs. And Sierra and three other environmental groups have been hit with a defamation lawsuit by Exxon Mobil in federal court in Texas.

“Renewables” workforce in short supply

The “renewables” movement is facing a workforce crisis in both white- and blue-collar jobs. The shortage has been years in the making, leading one analyst to conclude, “It’s unclear where these employees will come from in the future. There are too few people with specialized and relevant expertise and experience, and too many of them are departing for other companies or other industries.”The ”green” movement blames the shortage on “a lack of awareness of career paths and opportunities,” according to one energy news source. But just as possible is a lack of enthusiasm among workers, “especially as political developments may discourage would-be jobseekers from placing their bets on a career in the renewables sector,” as the site noted.

The crisis is worldwide, with some governments such as Australia’s investing millions to entice workers and ramp up training. The European Union, meanwhile, finds its arbitrary “renewables” targets meeting the reality of an inability to recruit the workers necessary to get there.“According to industry association SolarPower Europe, solar employment in the EU increased by 30% by 2022 to over 600,000 jobs, including indirect roles in materials and transportation,” the industry website Reccessary reported. “By 2030 the EU will need more than 1 million solar workers to meet higher renewable energy targets set recently by the EU to end the region’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, SolarPower Europe said.” Good luck.

Climate claims increasingly outrageous

It’s one thing to raise climate-related alarms about melting icebergs or more fires and floods. But the inability to coach tennis? That’s a complaint of a Wisconsin teenager who is one of eight children aged 8-17 who recently sued the state through two non-profit law firms over its fossil fuel policies.The lawsuit claims that “in 2023, a large boulder rolled into her backyard and knocked over trees,” which she blames on “freeze-thaw events” driven by fossil fuels. If those fuels weren’t causing climate change, the suit claims, “the boulder that tumbled toward her home would probably have never become dislodged,” as the Guadian reported.

But her troubles didn’t stop even after the teen moved to a different part of the state, according to the suit.“I coached tennis during the summer, but I recently did have to give it up due to such extreme weather and extreme climate events that don’t make it safe for me to be outside anymore,” the teen said. Presumably, tennis instruction in Wisconsin has continued thanks to others bravely stepping up.Health impacts due to heat can be serious. But that’s been the case throughout human history. Blaming “climate change” for events or conditions many Americans experience in routine daily life is a gift to the traditional energy sector, as an increasing number of rational Americans recognize just how far into the deep end the eco-alarmist movement has waded.

The doomsday environmentalists’ low morale is a result of their inflated expectations in the face of fading public support. Their workforce crisis is exacerbated by an uncertain future as conventional energy is on the ascent. Their increasingly fringe cause-and-effect theories have led to a loss of credibility among the general public.Because of its own penchant for overreach, coupled with both economic and political blowback, the climate cult is on its heels. A movement that tried to position itself as the only acceptable choice is on the verge of making itself an option of last resort.

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance.

Source: Zero Hedge

Source: reuters