SASKATOON, Saskatchewan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 7, 2026--
GreenSTEM Technology Corp is proud to introduce BioProspector™Fertilizer (BioPro), an exciting new product that uses biosafe fungi to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as drought, extreme temperatures, salinity or nutrient deficiencies, such as in – but not exclusive to – mine sites. The product is ready for field testing, and GreenSTEM is looking for participants in field trials.
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Co-founder Susan Kaminskyj says, “One of our major motivations at GreenSTEM is to reduce and repair the collateral damage to land and water that human technology has produced over time. We hope this will result in increased resilience in the face of global climate change.”
She says, “In BioProspector™ the fungi form a mold, similar to the strain that makes penicillin. The mold helps plants access water and nutrients in very hot and dry conditions, as well as in soils that have been stripped of nutrients. BioPro is ideally suited for growing crops in dry soil, as has been happening more and more on the Prairies over the last 25 years.”
Based on GreenSTEM’s bench tests, they expect that all crop species growing on every type of soil will not only benefit from BioPro but will also enjoy higher yields and improvements in soil nutrients. Kaminskyj says, “This product is ready for field testing, and it can work in gardens, greenhouses and fields. As we prepare to scale, we are eager to share BioPro with farmers willing to field test on diverse soil and crop types. We are happy to cover the costs of the product and soil testing.”
About GreenSTEM Technology Corp
GreenSTEM is a young research and development-focused biotech company in Saskatoon, Canada. Since 2018 they have been using their microbes to restore and maintain the health of land affected by chemical contamination.
Susan Kaminskyj and Mike Cavanaugh have technical expertise in fungal microbiology, molecular biology and health science. Susan’s research on beneficial plant-associated fungi began as a member of a field survey in the Canadian High Arctic in 2004 on Axel Heiburg and Ellesmere Islands. GreenSTEM Technology Corp is a member of the Eco Remediation Alliance and a member of Ag-West Bio. Learn more at greenstem.ca.
Both tomato seedlings were grown in coarse tailings (strip-mined oil sand, devoid of nutrients). The seedling on the left grew without BioPro; the seedling on the right had BioPro added.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks swung sharply Tuesday as uncertainty about the war with Iran increased ahead of a looming deadline set by President Donald Trump to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% after Trump threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran does not meet his deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz. But stocks rallied at the end of trading after Pakistan’s prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline for another two weeks and asked Iran to open up the strait for two weeks.
The S&P 500 erased all its losses and ended with a modest gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 85 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.
They’re the latest swings to hit financial markets since late February because of deep uncertainty about when the fighting may end. During just the first hour of Tuesday’s trading, the Dow careened between a gain of 74 points and a loss of 425.
Oil prices were likewise shaky. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude to be delivered in May briefly climbed above $117 before settling at $112.95, up 0.5%.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, eased by 0.5% to $109.27. It’s still well above its roughly $70 level from before the war began in late February.
Oil prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.
The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing through the global economy.
So far in the war, Trump has made a series of threats to blow up Iranian power plants if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, only to delay it several times. The possibility remains that Trump could hold off on his threats again, among other scenarios.
A year ago, Trump ultimately backed off many of the stiff tariffs that he initially threatened to put on imports from other countries, though they ended up higher than from before his second term.
“Investors are likely to remain on edge and markets unable to establish trends, probably until there is a clear outcome later this evening: a deal, the U.S./Israeli strikes intensify, or Iran’s retaliation becomes escalatory instead of proportional,” according to Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills fell sharply as high oil prices cranked up the pressure.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 3.3%, and United Airlines sank 1.8%.
Companies whose customers may have the least room to absorb the recent jump in gasoline prices also struggled. Dollar Tree slid 4.2%, and Dollar General fell 2.6%.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the United States has leaped to $4.14, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.
Stocks of health insurers helped support the market after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Medicare Advantage payments will likely see a net average increase of 2.48% in 2027. That was well ahead of what some investors expected, according to UBS analysts led by AJ Rice.
UnitedHealth Group jumped 9.4%, and Humana rose 7.9%.
Broadcom was another force pushing strongly upward on the market. It rose 6.2% after announcing deals with Google and Anthropic.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 5.02 points to 6,616.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 85.42 points to 46,584.46, and the Nasdaq composite added 21.51 to 22,017.85.
In stock markets abroad, Universal Music Group jumped 11.4% in Amsterdam after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management offered to buy the record label behind Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $64 billion.
Pershing Square argued the proposed deal would clear uncertainty that’s weighed on UMG’s stock, but its share price remained below what Pershing said its bid is worth. That could indicate investor doubt that the deal will happen.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe. Asian stock indexes were stronger, with South Korea’s Kospi up 0.8% for one of the world’s bigger gains.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased modestly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.30% from 4.34% late Monday.
That’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war, and the rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
John Mauro works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ed Curran works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
