The Peak Daily

A new non-profit group wants to help 129 Indigenous groups pursue ownership of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX), making it 100% Indigenous owned. Companies have had to increase their budgets on Super Bowl LVI ads, the biggest advertising event of the year, as Omicron disrupted commercial shoots and drove up production costs. Google scrapped their controversial plans to replace traditional trackin...

Canadian lawmakers prepare to pursue internet-related legislation next week, a Canadian Google executive has cautioned that such proposals could dramatically worsen people’s online experiences, per The Globe and Mail . Toronto-based startup BenchSci raised US$50 million to expand its AI-enabled platform that makes drug research less of a hassle. activist investors that have built stakes in consume...

Desperate for cattle feed, Canadian farmers are importing record amounts of corn from the US. Prices of bitcoin and ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, have dropped by 23% and around 35% since the start of the year. Intel announced  it would spend US$20 billion to build a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio as part of a broader industry-wide effort to alle...

Canadian and US trucking industries are grappling with driver shortages, straining already-fragile supply chains. Facebook’s parent company Meta could be making its first foray into the non-fungible token (NFT) market. Amazon will open its first physical clothing store in Los Angeles later this year. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa T...

Show Notes: Toronto-based password manager 1Password raised US$620 million round, marking the largest round raised by a Canadian company . In another effort to rein in the US’ biggest tech companies, the White House is weighing support for the bipartisan American Innovation and Choice Online Act , a bill designed to stop big tech companies from stifling competition. Energy consumption around bitco...

Pen maker Bic has announced a deal to buy Toronto-based temporary tattoo startup Inkbox for US$65 million. Microsoft has agreed to acquire game publisher Activision Blizzard, bringing together the two video game forces to create the world’s third-biggest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and PlayStation maker Sony. Canadians’ confidence in their personal finances has dropped to a record-lo...

Canada’ busiest airport and airlines are calling on the federal government to drop the requirement for an arrival test for vaccinated air travellers. Major brands, such as Coca-Cola and Walmart, signed a joint statement that calls for the formation of a global pact to cut down plastic waste. Stripe is helping Ford scale its e-commerce strategy, signing a five-year deal to strengthen the carmaker’s...

What goes up must come down, unless we’re talking about Canadian housing prices. At least that’s the conclusion we’re reached after reviewing new reports on our overheated housing market that predict rising prices well into 2022. Zara’s billionaire owner Amancio Ortega is  buying Toronto skyscraper Royal Bank Plaza  for over CA$1 billion. Bausch & Lomb, the Quebec-based maker of contact lenses...

The Canadian government extended the deadline for small businesses to pay back emergency loans—one of the most widely used pandemic programs for businesses. Insurers will pay over CA$2 billion to settle climate-related claims from last year. TikTok star, Charli D’Amelio makes more than top CEOs, according to Forbes’ ranking. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.t...

US oil prices peaked to $81 a barrel for the first time in two months, reflecting stronger consumption than many observers had expected. Saskatoon-based Vendasta Technologies announced its second acquisition since the software company dropped plans to go public in favour of financing, per The Globe and Mail . Canada’s annual pace of inflation has been hanging at around 5% in recent months, levels...

Canada and Taiwan have begun trade talks in an attempt to reduce both countries’ economic dependence on China. It all started with a butt-dial... Rogers officially named Tony Staffieri CEO after a six-month interim stint in the role. Cryptocurrency exchanges that are playing by the rules are upset that Singapore-based Crypto.com is advertising in Canada, despite not being registered here. Celebrat...

BMO is tapping into pension funds for its Bank of West takeover, the largest acquisition deal led by a Canadian bank. Gaming company Take Two Interactive is buying FarmVille maker Zynga for US$12.7 billion in one of the world’s biggest gaming mergers. Taco Bell said its piloting a subscription service to order one taco a day for $10 a month. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here:...

PM Justin Trudeau is proceeding with a vaccine mandate for truckers entering Canada, a requirement that some say will drive up prices of certain goods. Disney’s upcoming Pixar flick Turning Red will premiere on Disney Plus, instead of theatres, on March 11th. Vinyl sales overtook CD sales for the first time last year since 1991. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepe...

Our housing market is heating up: Toronto and Vancouver home sales shot up 7% and 28%, respectively. The New York Times (NYT) has agreed to buy subscription-based sports site The Athletic for $550 million, helping expand the NYT’s digital offerings. France hit Google and Facebook with over $216 million in fines for flouting privacy rules. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: htt...

The world’s biggest NFT marketplace OpenSea raised $300 million to a $13.3 billion valuation. Staffing shortages from Omicron are straining supply chains across Canada. 2021 was a strong run for the oil and gas bulls. And looking ahead to 2022, some of the sector’s biggest backers are already happy with what they’re seeing. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.ty...

Apple became the first $3 trillion company on Monday. Canada took an L in the first ever ruling by a USMCA panel. Volkswagen, GM, and Mercedes are drawing up plans to compete with Tesla. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions . Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal .

Ontario’s heading back into lockdown again to fight the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Say it ain’t so but today, many of BlackBerry’s phones will stop working as the company decommissions a number of devices. Over two thirds of Norwegian car sales in last year were electric. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily is p...

According to a  lab study  in South Africa, people who recover from the Omicron variant are better able to fight future infections from the Delta variant. Amazon  made it easier for their workers to unionize  through a deal with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Canada’s COVID Alert App is  looking like a bit of a flop . It was only used 869 times in November, a period in which Ontar...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Apple’s pleas to block three activist shareholder resolutions. The feds expanded benefits for workers and businesses, after provinces re-introduced tougher restrictions to combat the omicron variant of COVID. Companies and governments are growing concerned over the Log4j security vulnerability. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout...

NASA will launch the James Webb Space Telescope from South America on Friday. One of the biggest challenges to the EV boom will be building enough charging stations. The NHL became the first major American sports league to temporarily shutdown because of COVID. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media P...

TikTok is pilot testing a delivery service in the U.S. for some its most popular recipes. Montreal-based Bombardier’s stock is dropping, as a Swedish corruption investigation into the plane maker continues. Moderna’s confirmed that its booster dose offers protection against the omicron variant. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Pea...

It may be the season of giving but it sure looks like PM Justin Trudeau is  readying his government  for a multi-front trade fight with the United States. Airbus  ended production  of the world’s largest commercial airliner, the A380, with a final delivery to Emirates. Canada’s current ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, is  rumoured  to be next in line to chair global mining giant Rio Tinto. Cel...

The U.S. is prepared to take retaliatory action if Canada moves forward with the Digital Services Tax. Netflix cut its prices in India, its largest non-US market, by 60% in a bid to attract more users. Reddit filed to go public yesterday. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions . Hosted by...

Former President Donald Trump's social media platform is teaming up with Toronto-based Rumble. The feds are reintroducing an advisory against non-essential travel to stop the spread of Omicron. Montreal-based biotech company Valence Discovery raised ~$11 million. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media...

Pfizer released new results on their COVID-19 pills, and researchers are still concerned that Merck's pills could be too risky to administer. Winnipeg-based Skip The Dishes is expanding its grocery delivery business. Toyota is invested US-$35 billion in its electric vehicle (EV) plans. Celebrating something? Let us know for a shoutout here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/GuHjLDoa The Peak Daily i...