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Premiers Split on Using Potash as a Trade Weapon — What It Means for Your Grocery Bill

  Published August 31, 2026 Canada's premiers can't agree on how far to take the trade war with the United States — and this week, the fight is over a grey mineral mined almost 2,000 kilometres from Ottawa: potash. The disagreement matters well beyond provincial politics. Potash is the "P" and "K" of fertilizer economics — a key ingredient in the blends that grow the wheat, canola, and corn that eventually show up as bread, canola oil, and everything fed to livestock. Canada supplies about 85% of the potash the U.S. uses, which is exactly why some premiers see it as leverage — and why others are warning that pulling that lever could backfire on the very provinces pushing for it. Ford wants to pull the lever. Moe and Smith are warning not to. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pushing for the toughest response available, including resource-based leverage. Saskatchewan's Scott Moe and Alberta's Danielle Smith are pumping the brakes, warning that squeezing po...
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Wall Street Leans Toward Gains, Disney Tumbles After Posting Second-Quarter Loss



Wall Street experienced a seesaw of gains and losses before the opening bell today, as more corporate earnings reports arrived during what is otherwise expected to be a relatively quiet week. Here are the key highlights:

  1. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly, each gaining less than 0.1%. However, Disney faced a significant tumble of more than 6% in premarket trading after posting a second-quarter loss. The decline was primarily due to restructuring costs and other charges. Despite these challenges, when adjusted for those costs, Disney managed to beat Wall Street’s per-share profit expectations, although it fell short of sales targets.

  2. Tesla, another notable player, dipped slightly after federal highway safety investigators requested information about the fix in a recall of more than 2 million vehicles equipped with the company’s Autopilot partially automated driving system. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 20 crashes since the remedy—an online software update—was sent out in December. Tesla’s shares were down 1.8% before the bell and have fallen more than 25% this year.

  3. Corporate Earnings: This week is relatively quiet since the bulk of companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their earnings for the first three months of the year. More than three-quarters of them have exceeded profit expectations, according to FactSet. Corporate profit reports have been better than expected not only in the United States but also in Europe and Japan. Global earnings growth is on track for a second straight quarter of growth following four consecutive declines.

  4. Market Swings: The U.S. stock market has been oscillating between gains and losses since setting a record at the end of March. It initially sank due to fears that stubbornly high inflation would prevent or at least delay the Federal Reserve from delivering the interest rate cuts that Wall Street desired. However, it rebounded last week following a cooler-than-expected jobs report, suggesting that the U.S. economy was strong enough to avoid a severe recession without stoking inflation.

  5. Interest Rate Expectations: Traders are currently betting on a nearly 89% chance that the Fed will cut its main interest rate at least once before the end of the year, up from an 81.6% probability seen a week earlier. Lower rates would help ease the pressure on the economy and financial system.

  6. Global Markets: In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 surged 1%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.6%, and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4%. Meanwhile, in Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6% to 38,835.10.

In summary, while Wall Street remains cautious, the overall outlook for corporate earnings and global markets appears positive, despite occasional turbulence. Investors continue to monitor economic indicators and central bank actions closely. 



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