{
  "scan_date": "2026-08-04",
  "macro_notes": "Automated weekday scan (Tue 2026-08-04, TSX open). active_mode confirmed 'aggressive' in screen_criteria.json; aggressive_overrides applied throughout (RSI band 35-72 core / 75 leading-sector-breakout ceiling, min R:R 1:3, T1 20% at 1:1.5 / T2 30% at 1:3 / T3 50% runner trailing below rising 20 EMA, time stops 5/10 days with 20EMA-and-breakeven override, pyramid rule, 15% cash reserve, risk% by score 1.75/1.25/1.00). Step 1b (enrich incomplete positions): skipped -- positions.json open_positions is empty, nothing to enrich. Step 1c (resolve prior watchlist): skipped -- positions.json watchlist is empty and the most recent prior snapshot (2026-08-01) also had an empty signals.watchlist, so nothing carried over to re-check. Step 5 (exit checks): skipped -- no open positions, so no holds/exits today.\n\nStep 1a lesson applied: retrospective.json's sole lessons_for_next_scan item (narrow_funnel -- 0 distinct tickers traded program-to-date, below the 15-ticker breadth target) is still live since positions.json's closed_positions remains empty. Applied by: (1) not defaulting to the 7 historically-overused tickers (CNQ, K, AGI, ENB, SU, BNS, QSR) -- SU and ENB did surface today via CIBC's picks / Trade That Swing sourcing but were each excluded on their own merits below, not re-picked reflexively; (2) rotating the sector-sweep query to Healthcare (underrepresented in the 2026-08-01 scan) -- this returned no usable per-ticker Healthcare candidates (generic/non-Canadian screener noise only), a real negative result rather than a stopped-early failure, so I ran additional targeted Telecom and Consumer Staples sector searches plus a 52-week-high scan and an XIT-constituents lookup to still clear breadth; (3) evaluating 31 distinct tickers across 9 sectors today (Financials, Utilities, Energy, Consumer Staples, Industrials, Real Estate, Materials, Technology, Communication Services), clearing funnel_breadth's min_candidates_evaluated_per_scan (15) and min_sectors_represented (5).\n\nScreener outage / fallback: SwingTradeBot Canada (canada.swingtradebot.com) errored ('unavailable') and Trade That Swing (tradethatswing.com) returned HTTP 403 on fetch -- 2+ primary sources down, triggering funnel_breadth.screener_outage_fallback. Ran 5 fallback searches beyond the 7 base screener_sources queries: a TSX 52-week-high list, a TSX Communication Services/Telecom sector search, a TSX Consumer Staples sector search, an XIT (Technology) top-holdings lookup, and a direct fetch of CIBC technician Sid Mokhtari's August stock-pick list (Globe and Mail) -- the latter alone supplied 10 fresh tickers across 6 sectors (MFC, ACO.X, KEY, SU, OVV, ATD, WN, WCN, CHP.UN, DPM).\n\nPhase D commodity trigger (aggressive_overrides.valuation_exception): ACTIVE today -- gold up roughly 0.5-0.7% intraday and WTI crude up ~2.4% in pre-open trading (rebounding off Monday's ~5% Iran-related plunge). This makes the Energy/Materials P/E-up-to-45 override live in principle, but it wasn't needed: the only Materials/Energy name that reached fundamental review, DPM Metals, already has a P/E of 11.31, well inside the base 9-35 band.\n\n12 of the 31 evaluated tickers received full individual technical/fundamental confirmation (DPM, CHP.UN, WCN, HMM.A, DCM, GIB.A, DSG, T, POW, KEY, ARX, PBH) -- zero cleared all Step 3/Step 4 gates. Most notable: DPM Metals (Materials, gold) is fundamentally attractive (P/E 11.31, confirmed above both its 50d and 200d EMA, MACD +0.170 bullish crossover) but is up +6.84% intraday today on an earnings-beat gap -- a breakout, not a pullback. It scores only 2/5 on Step 4 (above-200EMA + MACD-positive; fails RSI-35-60 [currently 62.9], pullback-to-EMA, and volume-declining since it's breaking out rather than pulling back), below the 3-4 threshold Step 4 requires for watchlist -- worth re-screening in the next few sessions if it gives back part of today's gap. Choice Properties REIT (CHP.UN) had 3 of 5 positive technical readings (RSI 54.9 neutral, MACD +0.02 buy, price above its 200-day MA) but was excluded on the fundamental P/E gate -- GAAP net loss reported (P/E not computable), the same REIT depreciation-driven P/E blind spot flagged for CSH.UN on 2026-08-01; screen_criteria.json still has no FFO-based carve-out for Real Estate, a real screening gap, not a red flag on the business (2026 FFO guidance of $1.08-1.10/unit was reiterated). Waste Connections (WCN) confirmed P/E of 39.30, above the 35 ceiling -- no commodity exception applies (Industrials, not Energy/Materials) -- excluded despite an otherwise clean above-200EMA/neutral-RSI setup. Data-quality notes: Hammond Manufacturing (HMM.A) returned internally conflicting technical ratings (strong buy on 1wk/1mo momentum vs. strong sell on moving averages) and contradictory/stale price history across sources, so it was excluded rather than resolved in its favor; Data Communications Management (DCM) could not be searched at all -- the search tool returned 'unavailable' on both the initial attempt and one retry -- flagged as a standing risk to retry tomorrow, not a confirmed pass or fail.\n\nNet result: zero new_buys, zero watchlist entries. This is an explicitly valid Step 2 outcome ('a day with zero new_buys is a valid outcome -- a day where you stopped searching early is not') -- 31 tickers evaluated across 9 sectors, well past both funnel_breadth minimums, with 12 receiving full individual confirmation and every one of those 12 failing at least one hard gate on confirmed data.",
  "candidates_evaluated_count": 31,
  "sectors_evaluated": ["Financials", "Utilities", "Energy", "Consumer Staples", "Industrials", "Real Estate", "Materials", "Technology", "Communication Services"],
  "lessons_applied": [
    "narrow_funnel (retrospective.json, 2026-08-01 lesson, still active -- 0 distinct tickers closed to date): applied by avoiding reflexive use of the 7 historically-overused tickers (CNQ, K, AGI, ENB, SU, BNS, QSR) as automatic picks, rotating the sector-sweep to Healthcare with Telecom/Consumer Staples fallback searches, and evaluating 31 distinct tickers across 9 sectors -- clearing funnel_breadth's min_candidates_evaluated_per_scan (15) and min_sectors_represented (5)."
  ],
  "signals": {
    "new_buys": [],
    "holds": [],
    "exits": [],
    "watchlist": []
  },
  "excluded": [
    { "ticker": "MFC", "reason": "Manulife Financial (Financials). Surfaced via CIBC technician Sid Mokhtari's August 2026 pick list; not individually confirmed against RSI/MACD/200-EMA within today's search budget." },
    { "ticker": "ACO.X", "reason": "Atco Ltd (Utilities). Same CIBC pick-list source as MFC; not individually confirmed within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "KEY", "reason": "Keyera Corp (Energy). Confirmed: price below its 200-day MA ($42.46, sell signal), RSI 38.96, MACD -0.130 (sell) -- 'Strong Sell' overall technical rating (1 buy vs 8 sell signals). Also reports Q2 2026 earnings pre-market Aug 6, 2026, inside the 3-trading-day exclusion window from today. Fails both the trend gate and the earnings-proximity gate." },
    { "ticker": "SU", "reason": "Suncor Energy (Energy). Surfaced via CIBC's August picks; one of the 7 historically-overused tickers. Deliberately not individually re-confirmed today, consistent with deprioritizing default names per the narrow_funnel lesson." },
    { "ticker": "OVV", "reason": "Ovintiv Inc (Energy). CIBC pick-list source; not individually confirmed within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "ATD", "reason": "Alimentation Couche-Tard (Consumer Staples). CIBC pick-list source; not individually confirmed within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "WN", "reason": "George Weston Ltd (Consumer Staples). CIBC pick-list source; not individually confirmed within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "WCN", "reason": "Waste Connections (Industrials). Confirmed above its 200-day MA ($167.30) with neutral RSI (48.0, in the 35-60 pullback zone) and MACD -0.090 (not yet crossed positive), but confirmed trailing P/E of 39.30 -- above the base 9-35 band. Industrials doesn't qualify for the Energy/Materials commodity-P/E exception even though Phase D is active today, so excluded on the fundamental gate despite an otherwise reasonable technical setup." },
    { "ticker": "CHP.UN", "reason": "Choice Properties REIT (Real Estate). Confirmed RSI 54.9 (neutral, in-band), MACD +0.02 (buy), and price above its 200-day MA -- 3 of 5 technical scoring points -- but P/E is not computable (GAAP net loss of -$74.28M reported). Same REIT depreciation/P/E-distortion blind spot flagged for CSH.UN in the 2026-08-01 scan; screen_criteria.json still has no FFO-based carve-out for Real Estate. Excluded under current rules as written, not a red flag on the business (2026 FFO guidance of $1.08-1.10/unit reiterated)." },
    { "ticker": "DPM", "reason": "DPM Metals, formerly Dundee Precious Metals (Materials). Fundamentally attractive (confirmed P/E 11.31, price above both 50-day [$48.15] and 200-day [$42.30] EMA, MACD +0.170 bullish crossover) but up +6.84% intraday today on an earnings-beat gap -- a breakout day, not a pullback entry. Scores only 2/5 on Step 4 (above-200EMA + MACD-positive; fails RSI-35-60 [currently 62.9], pullback-to-EMA, and volume-declining), below the 3-4 threshold Step 4 requires for watchlist. Gold's Phase D commodity trigger is active today, reinforcing the sector tailwind, but doesn't change the entry-timing problem. Worth re-screening in the next few sessions for a pullback entry." },
    { "ticker": "ARX", "reason": "ARC Resources (Energy). Surfaced via 52-week-high list; earnings already reported (Jul 30, 2026, clear of the exclusion window) but no RSI/MACD/200-EMA data could be confirmed within today's search budget." },
    { "ticker": "CU", "reason": "Canadian Utilities (Utilities). Hit a 52-week high ($56.21) today per Baystreet; same generic-pick concern as the 2026-08-01 exclusion -- not individually confirmed against RSI/MACD/200-EMA within today's budget despite the fresh high." },
    { "ticker": "DCM", "reason": "Data Communications Management (Technology). Surfaced via 52-week-high list ($2.78). Search tool returned 'unavailable' on both the initial attempt and one retry -- could not confirm any technical or fundamental data today. Flagged as a standing risk to retry tomorrow, not a resolved pass/fail." },
    { "ticker": "HMM.A", "reason": "Hammond Manufacturing (Industrials). Surfaced via 52-week-high list ($22.44). Data was internally inconsistent: 1-week/1-month momentum rated 'strong buy' but the moving-average-based daily signal is 'strong sell', and price history across sources was contradictory/stale (all-time-high $19.98 on Jun 3 vs. a $10.15 quote dated Mar 26 vs. a $13.00 reference elsewhere). Excluded on data-quality grounds rather than resolved in its favor." },
    { "ticker": "POW", "reason": "Power Corporation of Canada (Financials). Hit a 52-week high ($95.12) today; next earnings Nov 18, 2026 (not a near-term risk), but no RSI/MACD/200-EMA data could be confirmed within today's search budget." },
    { "ticker": "PBH", "reason": "Premium Brands Holdings (Consumer Staples). Reports Q2 2026 earnings Thursday Aug 6, 2026 -- inside the 3-trading-day exclusion window from today. Excluded on the earnings-proximity gate regardless of otherwise-strong fundamentals (2026 revenue guidance +26% YoY)." },
    { "ticker": "SHOP", "reason": "Shopify (Technology). Repeated from the 2026-08-01 exclusion (software-sector weakness); not individually re-confirmed today within budget, no new catalyst surfaced to revisit." },
    { "ticker": "CSU", "reason": "Constellation Software (Technology). Same as SHOP -- repeated from 2026-08-01, not re-confirmed today." },
    { "ticker": "CLS", "reason": "Celestica (Technology). Confirmed below its 200-day MA in the 2026-08-01 scan ($463.87 vs $474.52); resurfaced today via the same Globe and Mail institutional-accumulation piece, but not re-verified with fresh numeric data -- carried forward as excluded." },
    { "ticker": "GIB.A", "reason": "CGI Inc (Technology). Q3 FY2026 earnings already reported Jul 29, 2026 (EPS +22.5% YoY, clear of the exclusion window) but no RSI/MACD/200-EMA data could be confirmed within today's search budget." },
    { "ticker": "DSG", "reason": "Descartes Systems Group (Technology). Confirmed RSI 48.8 (neutral, in-band) and MACD +0.43 (buy), but price is below its 200-day MA (123.97, 'sell' signal per source) -- fails the hard above-200-EMA gate despite two positive readings." },
    { "ticker": "T", "reason": "Telus Corp (Communication Services). Confirmed RSI 50.1 (neutral) and MACD ~0.000 (neutral), but the 50-day MA is below the 200-day MA and price is confirmed below its 200-day MA -- fails the above-200-EMA gate. Q2 2026 earnings already reported Jul 31, 2026 (clear of exclusion window), but the trend gate fails regardless." },
    { "ticker": "RCI.B", "reason": "Rogers Communications (Communication Services). Surfaced qualitatively in telecom-sector coverage; not individually confirmed against RSI/MACD/200-EMA within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "BCE", "reason": "BCE Inc (Communication Services). Same as RCI.B -- surfaced qualitatively (dividend-under-review coverage), not individually confirmed within budget." },
    { "ticker": "QBR.B", "reason": "Quebecor (Communication Services). Same as RCI.B/BCE -- surfaced qualitatively, not individually confirmed within budget." },
    { "ticker": "MTL", "reason": "Mullen Group (Industrials). Surfaced via Trade That Swing coverage (noted as a well-run outfit with summer 2026 gains) before that source's fetch failed with HTTP 403; not individually confirmed against RSI/MACD/200-EMA within today's budget." },
    { "ticker": "ENB", "reason": "Enbridge (Energy). Surfaced via the same Trade That Swing snippet; one of the 7 historically-overused tickers, deliberately deprioritized rather than re-picked without fresh individual confirmation, consistent with the narrow_funnel lesson." },
    { "ticker": "X", "reason": "TMX Group (Financials). Confirmed below its 200-day moving average in the 2026-08-01 scan, with Q2 earnings landing Aug 5, 2026 -- now inside the 3-trading-day exclusion window from today. Resurfaced in the same institutional-accumulation piece as Jul 31; excluded again on both the trend failure and the now-imminent earnings date." },
    { "ticker": "MDA", "reason": "MDA Space (Technology). Resurfaced via the same institutional-accumulation coverage as 2026-08-01; not individually confirmed against RSI/MACD/200-EMA within today's budget. Q2 earnings were noted Aug 7, 2026 in the prior scan -- worth checking against the 3-trading-day exclusion window before any near-term entry." },
    { "ticker": "EIF", "reason": "Exchange Income Corp (Industrials). Confirmed below its 200-day MA in the 2026-08-01 scan (2.55% below, MACD negative); resurfaced today via the same source, not re-verified with fresh numeric data -- carried forward as excluded." },
    { "ticker": "KXS", "reason": "Kinaxis (Technology). Confirmed below its 200-day SMA in the 2026-08-01 scan, with a conflicting earnings date (one source Aug 5, inside the exclusion window); resurfaced today via the same source, not re-verified with fresh numeric data -- carried forward as excluded." }
  ]
}