Earlier this week, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel showed off the company’s new AI ‘Specs’, a pair of smart sunglasses that make their users look dumb for wearing them. Following the debut, Snap’s stock price sank 5%. No one could have seen this coming – definitely not Google or Meta. Beyond the egregious price point (US$2,200!!!) and comically large fit, Snap also introduced the EyeConnect feature, which triggers a ‘shared augmented reality experience’ the moment two users make eye contact. Once upon a time, you could lock eyes with a stranger and fall passionately in love at first sight; today, you can involve a tech company in the process – and play Tetris at the same time.

– Eric Wainwright, Editor in Chief

The takeaway: Kind of a messy week, to be honest. Markets began rallying last Friday on the US-Iran peace deal and falling oil prices, but those gains were short-lived once Kevin Warsh's first meeting as chair of the US Federal Reserve turned out more hawkish than expected. Stock prices dropped across the board, and now fully half of the Fed's officials are projecting at least one rate hike in 2026. If you had a tough first week at a new job, take some comfort that it went better than Warsh's did.

Donald Trump told reporters in France on Wednesday that he'd rather not have the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) at all. "We do better without that agreement," he said – then spent two minutes arguing with himself. First he'd rather "have it terminated," except "I may sign it," but then he also "view[s] it as possibly expiring immediately." In other words, as clear as the mud in the Rio Grande.

The vibes are more fear-mongery than they should be. All three CUSMA countries have until July 1 to declare whether they want to keep the deal alive, and the internet is acting like it’s a countdown to a football in the groin. It’s not! If the date’s missed, the deal isn’t kaput: the countries can still extend it 16 more years, or they can transition into annual reviews of the agreement until it expires on its own in 2036. It’s not like pulling a lever, and actually withdrawing from the deal would require six months’ written notice. Even Janice Charette, Canada’s chief negotiator, says July 1 is “kind of a checkpoint – it's not a cliff.”

So don’t panic (yet), because CUSMA isn’t dying on July 1. The actual threat is almost worse, just because it’s so boring: the deal stays technically in effect, but is stuck doing annual reviews indefinitely, which means businesses can't plan around anything since it could all change again in 12 months. So… see you back here next June, we guess.

by Alf De Blasis

This is an excerpt of an article originally run in full on The Margin.

Months before the German National Soccer Team would begin defence of its title at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the US, the team's head coach, Berti Vogts, scouted locations that would closely mimic the conditions they would find in the city of Chicago, where they would be based during the group stage of the tournament.

Vogts came upon a small south central Ontario resort that happened to have a soccer pitch on the property; reaching out to the owners, he asked if they could install a second soccer field in time for his team's pre-tournament training camp. Drawing on their origins as a sod business, the innkeepers agreed and laid down a second pitch – and the Nottawasaga Inn has been hosting international soccer organizations ever since.

In the town of Alliston, about a 90-minute drive north from Toronto, the Nottawasaga Inn Resort & Conference Centre has 269 hotel rooms, 34 meeting rooms, two NHL-sized hockey rinks, and two FIFA-regulation soccer pitches. Over the past 32 years, ever since that first visit of the German National Team, Nottawasaga has hosted a slew of soccer organizations, including Canadian National Men's and Women's teams, representative squads from Portugal, Australia, and the US, as well as Italian club teams Parma and Frosinone.

This year, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (jointly hosted by Canada, the US, and Mexico), the National Team of Panama secured the resort as their base camp for a three-week period before and during the tournament. Panama's set to play two of its three group stage games at Toronto's BMO Field (it will be known simply as Toronto Stadium throughout the World Cup as per FIFA’s requirement that all World Cup host venues drop corporate sponsor names during the tournament).

That one decision in 1994, laying sod for a German soccer coach, has shaped Nottawasaga's business in ways nobody planned for.

Read more

Eric Wainwright, Editor in Chief: At least a couple of my grandparents are from England. One from Germany. There might be some Scandinavian connections in the distant past. In my early twenties I lived in the south of Spain, writing bad poetry while sipping café con leches seaside. A few years later I spent 24 months teaching small Korean children how to speak English on an island in South Korea. I’ve been to Portugal more than once. Love France. Spent a single night in Japan eating shabu shabu before nearly finding myself at the bottom of the East China Sea during a ferry crossing that included sudden stormforce winds. 

Above all, I am Canadian – born and raised. 

All of this to say that, at any given moment this month, I am cheering for no fewer than seven teams to succeed in the World Cup. If you’re not doing this, you’re making a once-every-four-years-level mistake. Pick a memory, a future travel destination, a past life – hell, a favourite street food, even, and just get a goddamn jersey on. Bonus points if you do so in public, beer in hand, while making a new friend. 

‘Cause for all the f*ckery that is FIFA, the beautiful game still remains beautiful – even more so when you’re cheering for your ‘home’ team(s).

From The Margin group chat:

If you liked this newsletter, hated this newsletter, or are totally indifferent to it, hit the reply button and tell us why! We’re so lonely.

This week’s contributors: Alf De Blasis (writer), Tyler Haw (audience engagement), Jenna Zaitchik (senior creative designer), Shazia Khan (social media strategy manager), Kat Angus (deputy editor), and Eric Wainwright (editor in chief).

Movie poster credits: The BFG: BLT Communications and Gravillis; Disclosure Day: Ethan Pro; ET: John Alvin; Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: Richard Amsel; Jaws: Roger Kastel; Jurassic Park: John Alvin; Ready Player One: Paul Shipper; War of the Worlds: Drew Struzan; West Side Story: Gravillis.

Important Legal Disclosures
"The Margin" is a financial news and media platform published by QuestMedia Inc. and is a member of the Questrade Group of Companies. Questrade Group of Companies means Questrade Financial Group and its affiliates that provide deposit, investment, loan, securities, mortgages and other products or services. Our editorial team operates independently, though "The Margin" may promote Questrade services and receive promotional benefits when users click provided links or open accounts.
Not Investment Advice & Risk Warning: All content is for informational and educational purposes only. "The Margin" is not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Nothing published constitutes a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell any security, or to engage in any investment strategy. Trading securities—especially on margin—involves significant risk and can result in the loss of your entire investment. Please consult a qualified financial or tax professional before making any investment decisions.
Limitation of Liability: Content and market data are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. "The Margin" and its affiliates assume no liability for your trading results or data inaccuracies. Contributors to "The Margin" may hold positions in the securities discussed.
Your personal information is handled in accordance with the Questrade Financial Group Privacy Policy. You may withdraw your consent to receive these emails at any time by clicking "unsubscribe."