Have I mentioned I’m a deal junkie? A really exciting–or even just a really well-put together, high-strategy deal–is ridiculously fun to write up. And deal trends… they raise my pulse rate.

Don’t judge. Everyone needs hobbies and passions. If you read PricewaterhouseCoopers Capital Markets flash, my deal junkie nature is making the most of a challenging quarter. It had highlights, for sure. And things could always be worse–have been worse. But. Here’s hoping Q3 and Q3 give me some more dramatic stories and trends to play with…

Key headlines from Q2-2013:

Spotlight on Grocers: Deal of the Quarter
Spotlight on Forests: Strategic Buyers Reclaim Timber Assets
Canada’s Pension Funds Continue To Earn Global Clout
Real Estate Searching For Product
Setting the Stage for a Telecom Shake Up
Mining’s wait-and-see game: new CEOs assessing assets
Still still in the oil patch
Small is beautiful: mid-market

Featuring PricewaterhouseCoopers Canadian Deals team leader Nicolas Marcoux, and PwC partners Julian Brown, Eric Le May, Scott McLean, Richard Pay, Don Fitzpatrick, Ken Goodwin, Clinton Roberts

And “best of” public record quotes from:

Paul Sobey, CEO, Empire Co. Ltd.
Bobby Hagedorn, retail analyst, Edward Jones
Kevin Grier, senior market analyst, George Morris Centre
Mark Kennedy, analyst, CIBC World Markets Inc.
Scott MacDonald, head of pension segment development, RBC Investor & Treasury Services
Bruce Kirby, senior vice president for strategy and business development at Public Mobile
Drew McReynolds, a telecom analyst with RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
Josh Blair, Telus’s chief corporate officer
Mark Langton, spokesman, BCE
Randall Oliphant, chairman, New Gold
Steve Williams, president and CEO, Suncor

Full text, with all sorts of edifying charts and graphs, freely available at PcW Capital Markets Flash, Q2 2013, July 26, 2013