

The Peak Daily
The Peak / Curiouscast
Fast Canadian business news. Get up-to-speed quick with a fun and smart breakdown of the three biggest Canadian and global business stories in less than 10 minutes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 17, 2023 • 8min
Equality ⚽️ — New World Bank Chief coming. CPG prices are way up. And Canadian Women’s Soccer Team are fighting for equality.
World Bank chief David Malpass will step down over a year before his tenure ends, giving the Biden administration a coveted opening to fill by June of next year.Nestlé, the world’s biggest food maker, saw its real internal growth (a measure of sales and consumer product choices) fall by 2.6% last quarter as the company raised prices by 10.1%, its steepest price hikes in decades per Financial Times.The Canadian women’s national soccer team is playing the US tonight in their first game of the SheBelieves Cup. However, their biggest match-up is happening off the pitch.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 16, 2023 • 9min
Search engine convos 🔎 — Bing is talking to searchers. Developers want the Bank of Canada to quit it. And the US migration crisis comes north.
Tired of having needless arguments that don’t go anywhere with your friends, family, and co-workers? Now you can have them with your search engine instead!If there was a list of groups hoping the Bank of Canada keeps its promise to stop hiking interest rates this year, housing developers would be at the very top.Last year, over 40,000 migrants crossed into Canada through an unofficial border crossing into Québec. In the last six months, the feds have relocated over 5,300 to other provinces.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 15, 2023 • 9min
Electric union 🚘 — The EU is going electric. Lab grown diamonds are taking off. And Canada wants to be a leader in AI.
The EU has effectively banned the sale of new gas-powered vehicles after 2035, after approving a law that will force carmakers to achieve a 100% cut in emissions by that time.Lab-grown diamonds are pretty darn close to the real deal.Complete global dominance of the maple syrup market isn’t enough. Canada wants to be a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) too.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 14, 2023 • 9min
AI valentine ❤️ — Bed Bath and Beyond is over in Canada. Real estate developers are skeptical of the foreign buyers ban. And AI is the new catfishing choice du jour.
After 15 years of Bed Bath & Beyond (BB&B), Canadians will have to start looking elsewhere for avocado slicers, onion choppers, and any other bizarre kitchen gadgets under the sun.Real estate developers say new rules aimed at boosting the housing supply may actually have the reverse effect.Technology has come a long way since the phrase catfish entered the cultural lexicon over a decade ago, and now cybersecurity and fraud experts are warning that new and advanced AI tech might have the potential to revolutionize romance scams.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 13, 2023 • 8min
Marketing bowl 🏈 — The biggest event in marketing. A great jobs report comes out. And daycare is becoming a big business.
Fox is expected to rake in ~US$600 million after selling out of its Super Bowl ad slots. The average cost of a 30-second spot was pegged at US$6.5 million, and some ended up going for over $7 million.Canada added 150,000 jobs in January, obliterating analyst expectations which projected a measly gain of only 15,000 jobs.Delivery apps and financial tech are out. For some investors, daycare is in.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 10, 2023 • 9min
Disney cuts 🎥 — Disney lays off. Right to fix laws are changing. And Bombardier is doubling down on jets.
Layoffs. They’re not just plaguing Big Tech anymore. Disney plans to lay off 7,000 workers and restructure its organization as it looks to boost profits and cut costs by US$5.5 billion.Tech companies are making their phones and computers a lil’ bit easier to fix, but consumer advocates want lawmakers to push them further.Thousands of travellers probably wished they owned a private jet after a disastrous holiday travel season. If they could afford one, Bombardier would be happy to help them out.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 9, 2023 • 9min
Search wars 🔎 — Microsoft is taking the search fight to Google. Hydrogen could be the future of energy. And great Uber earnings.
Leafs vs. Habs. Pepsi vs. Coke. Dudes who wear shorts year-round vs. Canadian winters. Then, there’s Google vs. Microsoft. And a new front has opened up in their ongoing war.Canada’s ready to add some more green to its energy mix.While most of the tech industry saw quarterly earnings reports that ranged from “disappointing” to “AHHH!!!”, Uber is looking at its latest numbers with a big, toothy grin.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 8, 2023 • 9min
Geothermal energy 🥵 — The PM and Premiers meet to discuss healthcare. The Bank of Canada is opening up to Canadians. And geothermal power could be a huge energy breakthrough.
Justin Trudeau met yesterday with the nation’s premiers, offering them $196.1 billion in healthcare funding to put towards healthcare over the next decade, including $46.2 billion in completely new funding. In exchange, provinces and territories must improve how they collect and share health data and report on how they spend the money they receive.The Bank of Canada (BoC) is trying to open up. But unlike your typical therapy session, it’s the Canadian public with the trust issues.Tired of hearing about wind, solar, and hydrogen energy? You’re in luck. There’s a hot new renewable energy source on the scene that is literally so hot.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 7, 2023 • 9min
Cashless country 🇨🇭 — Switzerland is voting on going cashless. Employers are tracking you. And a Quebecer tricks Tripadvisor.
Switzerland is going to have a referendum about whether the country should be allowed to go completely cashless.As workers hang on to work-from-home for dear life, employers are turning to tracking software (aka bossware or tattleware) to ensure workers aren’t busy napping or doing laundry.Tripadvisor took down the listing for Le Nouveau Duluth, the platform’s top-ranked Montréal restaurant, after a CBC investigation found that the eatery didn’t exist.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO

Feb 6, 2023 • 8min
Magic 🍄 — Tech companies are missing expectations. Online arguments about food prices. And the future for Magic Mushrooms in Canada.
The triple A of Big Tech—Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet—all dropped earnings reports for the final quarter of 2022, each with its own specific points of concern.Arguing on social media: It’s not just for cranky relatives you only see once a year. Major Canadian grocery chains can get in on the fun, too.Magic mushroom shops are springing up across the country, not unlike the spree of black market pot shops that populated urban areas in the runup to legalization in 2018.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TO