Scotiabank's Portfolio Strategy team released its August Monthly Chart Book and there are some notable things worth highlighting. Top-line growth is running 13% y/y and EPS growth is up 38% — though the strategists flag that headline number is "boosted by Alphabet's unrealized gains on its stakes in Anthropic and SpaceX." More important is the leverage point: with hidden off-balance-sheet obligations included, the AI basket's net debt/forward EBITDA has climbed to 2x. TSX small caps are up 51.2% y/y on a total return basis and still trade at 13.9x forward earnings against a 17.2x average. It matters if you're investing in dollar stores or McDonald's but not in most of the S&P 500.