Here's something worth paying attention to: Canadian business sentiment just shifted noticeably. A fresh survey shows only 22% of firms are bracing for a recession in the coming year—that's a meaningful drop from the 33% who felt that way back in Q3.

What does this mean? Well, fewer companies expecting economic headwinds typically signals improving confidence in the outlook. Whether that confidence is justified is another question, but market psychology matters. When recession fears ease up, risk appetite tends to return. You see this ripple across assets—equities get bid up, volatility tends to compress, and alternative asset classes often catch a bid too.

The chart here tells the story: sentiment is thawing. Whether it sticks around depends on whether actual economic data starts to match these expectations, or if the next batch of reports reminds everyone why they were worried in the first place.