

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

Aug 22, 2022 • 10min
Bed, bath and crash 🛁 — Another meme stock come and goes. Insurers aren’t covering cyberattacks anymore. And there are new crypto regs.
Just five months after activist investor Ryan Cohen took on a ~10% position in Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), his sudden exit has sent shares spiralling by ~40%.Canada’s top financial regulator has introduced its first-ever framework to **limit the exposure of federally regulated financial institutions, like banks and insurers, to crypto assets (nice!).Starting next year, Lloyd’s of London insurers (which includes Lloyd’s Canada) will no longer offer coverage for state-backed cyberattacks in their policies.The demand for natural gas has soared this year, but producers in Alberta have been unable to capitalize on higher prices (and are seeing billions lost in revenue).The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 19, 2022 • 10min
Gaz guzzlers ⛽️ — Alberta can’t capture the natural gas upside. Homeowners in China are boycotting rent payments. And Canadian VC dollars are coming back to earth.
The demand for natural gas has soared this year, but producers in Alberta have been unable to capitalize on higher prices (and are seeing billions lost in revenue).Hundreds of thousands of homeowners across 100 cities are banding together and refusing to repay loans on unfinished apartmentsAfter a high ride throughout the pandemic, venture capital (VC) funding for Canadian companies has finally come down to Earth.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 18, 2022 • 10min
1 year 🎉 — The Peak Daily is one year old. Zellers is coming back. Airbnb is rolling out anti-party technology.
Almost a decade after Zellers left suburban malls across the country sitting empty, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is looking to launch its Canadian discount chain back into relevance.Airbnb is introducing a new weapon in its war against fun and will soon roll out “anti-party technology” on its platform in Canada and the US.Canada’s largest unions are now clapping back at the Bank of Canada, advocating for workers’ bargaining power at a time (they say) they need to make gains.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 17, 2022 • 11min
Lab diamonds 💍 — Inflation is down. Pandora is rolling out lab grown diamonds. And US mining dollars might be coming to Canada.
Inflation may have peaked, but still remains “far too high” according to a new op-ed penned by the Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem.Pandora announced the launch of its first collection featuring lab-grown diamonds later this month throughout Canada and the US.Canadian officials are pointing to a document recently posted on the White House website that explicitly calls for Canada to be a domestic source for critical minerals as a sign that Canada could see some of the money from President Biden’s landmark climate bill coming it's way.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 16, 2022 • 12min
WeLive 🏠 – An update on China. Adam Neumann is back. And Bytedance gives up their algo.
Five US lawmakers decided to visit Taiwan just 12 days after the same trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted China to launch days of military drills around the self-governing island, which Beijing considers its territoryWeWork’s Adam Neumann is back with a new company and he just raised $350 million in fundraising from venture capital fund Andressen Horowitz.Some of China’s biggest tech companies including ByteDance and Alibaba disclosed to the government the inner workings of their algorithms—an unprecedented move in the tech world.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 15, 2022 • 9min
More workers 👩🏭 — Employers are taking advantage of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Weddings are getting more expensive. And Nunavut is facing a food crisis.
As Canadian employers face the lowest unemployment rate in decades, they’re moving to fill roles with temporary foreign workers (or TFW, for short)As the post-pandemic wedding boom picks up in Canada, so are bachelor and bachelorette festivities. The only problem? They’ve become more expensive than ever (thanks, inflation).The global food crisis wreaking havoc on the world’s poorest nations is also taking its toll on Canada’s most remote northern communities.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 12, 2022 • 10min
Correction ✏️ — The CPPIB didn’t do that bad. Russian oil is doing okay. And Canada’s housing market may be stabilizing.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) saw its funds drop by 4.2% last quarter or roughly $16 billion—which sounds a lot worse than it actually is.According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Western sanctions have had a limited impact on Russia’s oil exports, which is also its biggest money maker.The average price of a Canadian home is projected to fall by ~25% by the end of 2023 from all-time highs this past February, per a new report from Desjardins.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 11, 2022 • 11min
Corporate cards 💳 —Microsoft is pulling back on corporate card spending. Europe is struggling with the heat. And Dominos is leaving Italy.
As a wave of economic uncertainty hits Big Tech, Microsoft is reining in the fun money.Extreme heat and low rainfall are drying up Europe’s rivers which could lead to potentially catastrophic impacts on the US$80 billion river trade contributes to the EU’s economy.And for our last story, La vita isn’t very dolce right now for Domino’s after the pizza chain failed to take off in the saucy dish’s birthplace.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 10, 2022 • 12min
Airline audit ✈️ — Netflix’s games aren’t taking off. The government is investigating Canadian airlines. And Google wants Apple to get rid of the green bubbles.
Netflix is struggling to build its gaming business as less than 1% of their users interact with them on a daily basisJust when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Canada’s airlines and airports, the government has launched an investigation into the flight cancellations making headlines.Android users know that there is no greater indignity than being the only green bubble in a friend group of iPhone users. Google is now stepping up to fight this injustice.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.

Aug 9, 2022 • 10min
Embarrassing earnings 📉 — SoftBank has a bad quarter. Self driving cars are coming to China. And Ontario hospitals are in crisis.
Japanese technology investor SoftBank reported a record loss of US$23 billion last quarter, after a spending spree that CEO Masayoshi Son described as delirious.Baidu (China’s Google) is the country’s first company licensed to commercially offer fully driverless robotaxis without a human supervisor present through Apollo Go, its driverless ride-hailing platform.Canadian hospital shutdowns that began in small jurisdictions have now spread to the biggest cities as the healthcare system deals with a devastating labour shortage.The Peak Daily is produced by 306 Media Productions. Hosted by Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal.


