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
Nov 18, 2022 • 8min
Worse than Enron 🔌 — Insolvency expert says FTX is the worst he’s seen in his career. Canada may join the OPEC for nickel. Rain is causing wheat headaches.
According to a guy that’s seen the darkest side of the corporate world, the fallen crypto exchange FTX is the worst of it all.Last month Indonesia floated the idea of a so-called “OPEC for nickel”. Now, it’s shopping around for partners to make this cockamamie dream a reality. At the top of its list? Canada.You probably know that it rains a lot in Vancouver. What you might not know is that Canada’s grain supply chain essentially comes to a screeching halt every time the skies open up there.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 17, 2022 • 7min
Robot writing ✍️ — Is it the end of the housing downturn? Notion is adding AI writing. And Canada needs to bolster our presence in the arctic.
Is it the beginning of the end of Canada’s real estate downturn? RBC thinks so.Cult-favourite note-taking platform Notion launched a private alpha test for its newest product, Notion AI, which can generate written content with a single prompt.Canada is ill-equipped to detect ships in its Arctic waters, and the country’s Auditor-General is pointing fingers at the federal government for not doing enough to address the problem.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 16, 2022 • 8min
Retail revival 🛍 — The Bank of Canada is losing money. US retailers are posting better numbers than expected. And Hydro Quebec has a spy scandal.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) is on track to give “monetary tightening” a whole new meaning by losing between $5 billion and $6 billion over the next few years.As Black Friday rears its head, the world’s largest retailer is showing signs that the doom and gloom facing the retail sector this year may have been (at least a little) overhyped.A former researcher who worked in its electric batteries unit at Hydro-Quebec has been accused of collecting trade secrets and passing them on to China.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 15, 2022 • 9min
Electric delay 🚗 — Electric vehicles are delayed. The Sens are for sale. And Amazon is cutting jobs.
More Canadians than ever want to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV), but most won’t be able to plant their butt in a driver’s seat anytime soon.Still have some spare CERB money kicking around? Why not bring together your closest billionaire friends and buy a professional hockey team?Not long after warning of a slowdown around what is usually a busy holiday season, Amazon has become the latest company to cut jobs to brace for a potential economic downturn.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 14, 2022 • 8min
Bankruptcy 🪙 — Amazon is taking loses. Twitter is chaotic and FTX is bankrupt.
After becoming the first company to lose US$1 trillion in market value (yes, ever), Amazon is taking a long, hard look at its business, because something ain’t right.Elon Musk held his first meeting as the company's CEO, fielding questions from staffers and dropping several off-side comments, like saying “there’s a good chance” Twitter will not survive the economic downturn.After scrambling to drum up money to fix a cash shortfall of US$8 billion, FTX filed for what will be the biggest US bankruptcy this year.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 11, 2022 • 8min
Office cuts 🏢 — WeWork is pulling back. Canva is introducing AI. And NASA is launching a new climate satellite.
Cost-cutting is the name of the corporate game these days, and WeWork is no exception.Just a few months ago, text-to-image AI seemed like super-futuristic tech reserved solely for hardcore researchers. Now, it’s available for free on one of the most popular design apps.In the wee hours of Thursday morning, NASA launched JPSS-2—its newest satellite, which joins a global observation system analyzing the Earth’s weather patterns.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 10, 2022 • 9min
Non-alcoholic 🍺 — There’s a new gen of non-alcoholic drinks. What if you could date using a Love is Blind app? And Meta has a big layoff.
Keurig Dr. Pepper invested US$50 million for a minority stake in Athletic Brewing, a leader in the booming non-alcoholic craft beer market.Picture this: The reality TV show “Love is Blind,” but for your personal dating life.The Big Tech carnage continued as Meta laid off 13% of its workforce (~11,000 workers), in the largest staff reduction in the tech industry this year.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 9, 2022 • 9min
Live pod 🎙 — Retirees are going back to work. The feds want to fund health care. And FTX is over.
Live from The Peak’s Bet on Canada Summit in Toronto!Retirees used to spend their time sunning in Florida. These days, they’re going back to work.The federal government will dish out money to fix provincial healthcare—hooray!And just like that, one of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency exchanges has fallen.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 8, 2022 • 9min
Cleaning fees 🧹 — Airbnb is building cleaning fees into the prices. Canada’s proposed online streaming bill is making creators sweat. And Americans head to the polls today!
Executives at Airbnb want you to know they have, in fact, read all your angry tweets about out-of-control cleaning fees, and that they’re listening and learning.Canada’s proposed Online Streaming Bill Canadian is starting to make creators sweat.Americans head to the polls today, which means that by tomorrow there will be a crop of kooky new congresspeople that may or may not keep you awake at night.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOThe Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
Nov 7, 2022 • 9min
Four day workweek 4️⃣ — You’re not getting enough sleep. Unilever is experimenting with the four-day workweek. And Xi is trying to cool down nuclear tensions.
In exchange for not seeing the sun after work until spring, you’re now getting an extra hour of sleep—and the odds are, that’s something you desperately need.Unilever, the multinational giant that owns brands like Ben and Jerry’s and Dove, is the biggest corporation yet to give a big thumbs up to the four-day workweek.China’s president Xi Jinping has gone from having “concerns” over the war in Ukraine to telling Russia to knock it off with the nuclear threats.Celebrating something? Let us know here: https://thepeak.typeform.com/to/MNdYA3TOJoin us for a live recording of The Peak Daily at the Bet on Canada Summit on November 8th. Buy tickets here: https://readthepeak.com/events/bet-on-canada-2022The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.
