Google tests chatbot. The company is racing to get its ChatGPT rival, the oddly named “Apprentice Bard,” ready to talk to people on the internet. The Bard is based on Google’s LaMDA conversation technology, and can (apparently) speak to events after 2020, unlike ChatGPT, which answers questions as though it just woke up from a coma. (The Verge)

Regulators look into Adani. The Securities and Exchange Board of India is reportedly looking into claims made against billionaire Gautam Adani's companies and irregularities in a plan to offload US$2.5 billion worth of shares of a flagship firm. The now-closed offering was meant to restore shareholder confidence, but was cancelled yesterday. (Reuters)

Sanctions against Myanmar. The US, UK, and Canada announced sanctions against the military junta that ousted the elected government in a coup in February 2021. The junta has been suppressing dissent, including through airstrikes against civilians. The sanctions aim to cut off fuel supply from the military air force. (The Guardian)

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: A central bank chair walks into a conference hall and delivers an interest rate hike…

What’s happening: The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point, the first “normal-sized” hike since starting to bump up rates last March, up to 4.75%. Though the hikes are getting smaller, the Fed says it’s still dead set on wrangling inflation. 

• Experts predict that the Fed won’t slow its roll completely and that at least two more 0.25% rate hikes are on the way in March and April, respectively.

Europe is in a similar boat ahead of the European Central Bank’s decision today. A new reading projected eurozone inflation dropped to 8.5% in January, but that likely won’t affect the region’s ensuing rate hikes. The bank remains focused on tackling sticky core inflation. 

In Canada: Unlike its central bank counterparts around the world, the Bank of Canada (BoC) is putting rate hikes to bed until further notice. It will likely stick with a 4.5% base rate through 2023 on the belief that Canadian headline inflation will fall to 2.6% by year’s end. 

Why it matters: Canada’s hardly in the clear. One Desjardins economist told Storeys that major rate differentials (between the US) could lead to capital flowing out of Canada into the US because of the higher interest rates, causing a depreciation of the Canadian dollar. 

• A weaker dollar would make it costlier to import goods from the US (where we get a lot of stuff from, particularly food) and ratchet inflation back up in Canada. 

Bottom line: As more inflation-related data rolls in over the coming months, we’ll gain a clearer picture of how far foreign central banks will go and the effects on things at home.

Waterloo-based OpenText closes a US$5.8 billion deal to acquire Micro Focus, a provider of mission-critical software and services.

Imperial Oil commits $720 million to a renewable diesel facility near Edmonton that will turn locally sourced vegetable oils into fuel.

GM invests US$650 million into Lithium Americas, moving the Canadian company closer to its goal of breaking ground on a lithium mine in Nevada.

Montreal’s Blockstream raises $167.3 million to weather crypto volatility as it seeks to expand its Bitcoin mining operations.

US-based Level Equity invests $20 million in Manitoba’s RocketRez, whose travel-focused ticketing and operations platform has seen renewed post-pandemic demand.

Inflation is coming down, and the reason may lie in what’s happening in housing. 

Driving the news: The central bank’s campaign to hike its overnight rate from 0.25% to 4.5% has sent home prices plummeting. Its recent decision to take a pause is not only good news for homeowners but cause for optimism about the country’s overall high inflation. 

• Average sale prices in parts of Southern Ontario have dropped over 30% from 2022 peaks, and the central bank expects prices to keep falling until June.
   
• The outsized role of housing in the Canadian economy, together with sensitive inflation measures, means what happens in housing ties closely to inflation data.

Why it matters: With housing costs making up 30% of the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the recent rise in mortgage costs (thanks to those pesky interest rate hikes) has actually increased inflation in the CPI. The pause will bring that trend to an abrupt halt.

• The mortgage interest sub-index of CPI was up 18% year-over-year in December, in part because a large proportion of homeowners hold variable-rate mortgages. 

Zoom out: One economist told Bloomberg that the central bank underestimates how fast inflation will fall as mortgage costs trend down toward the end of the year. In the US, where interest rate changes aren’t so tightly tied to housing, the same rate of easing is unlikely.

🐐 2. Times that Tom Brady, the greatest NFL player of all time, has retired. This time, he claims it’s “for good.” At the close of his career, Brady has more Super Bowl rings, more touchdown passes, and more wins than any other player. 

📉 10.3%. The median average that Canadian defined-benefit pension plans fell by in 2022, collectively suffering their worst losses since the 2008 financial crisis. On the bright side, the losses mostly came in the first half of the year.

🧳 97%. Air passenger complaints to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) without recorded outcomes. This huge gap in recordkeeping means we have zero clue how many are resolved in the customer’s favour.

• The start-up that wants to bring dodo birds and woolly mammoths back from the grave.
  
  
• Here are 33 expert fitness tips that are so easy you’ll actually stick to them.
  
  
• All the details on Netflix’s (kinda convoluted) crackdown on password sharing.
  
  
• Read: The great Dallas monkey mystery continues.
  
  
• Watch: The economics of Lego.
  
  
• What a relief: That missing radioactive capsule was found in Australia.

We’ve got some big news to share… it’s time to play today’s mini-crossword!