Vaccine: European markets jumped again as Pfizer and BioNTech released that their is even more effective than previously thought with an efficacy rate of 95% in all ages. Pfizer expects to submit the vaccine for US and EU approval within days with sign-off from authorities to likely come before the end of the year.

Inflation: Canada's inflation rate unexpectedly jumped to 0.7% up from a year over year increase 0.5% in September due to higher food prices. Vegetable prices rose 9.5% with lettuce jumping more than 25% on the heals of disease and inclement weather.

Remember those random Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashes in 2019, well good news, they're fixed? The FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) has cleared the way for the Boeing 737 Max 8 to begin flying again after it was grounded following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia .

Why does it matter: Canadian airlines are some of the top customers of Boeing 737 Max 8's so you'll likely fly on one when regular travel resumes.

The details: After an extensive investigation, the FAA has forced Boeing to make a number of updates to the plane's software, controls and pilot training.

Looking forward: Don't expect to these bad boys back in the sky anytime soon. Federal transport Minister Mark Garneau said that Ottawa plans to impose different requirements than the US on Boeing before the planes can fly again.

And with global travel at unprecedented lows, airlines aren't in much of a rush to get the planes off the ground.

 

Perfect, right? Well, there's a catch – it's still in private beta. But lucky for you we have 100 exclusive invites to give away to Peak readers.

 

Say goodbye to the 'PING!!!!' – Blackberry is looking to sell their significant intellectual property portfolio which includes BBM and over 38,000 valuable patents.

Why are they doing this? Since taking the role in 2013, CEO John Chen has been pivoting the company towards a pure software play. Selling the patents will provide much needed financing and focus the company on his vision.

Zoom out: Frustratingly for Canada, it's likely that these assets will be sold to a foreign entity. Blackberry is the only Canadian firm on the list of the top 100 global patent holders and development of the IP was heavily funded by the Government of Canada.

Sale of Blackberry's IP to a foreign company will undoubtedly result in lost jobs and revenue for the country – and damage our reputation as a leader in the innovation economy.

Looking ahead: When Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains' office was asked about the sale, they refused to comment on speculation but reaffirmed the importance of Canadian intellectual property staying in Canada. Watch to see if the federal government intervenes in a future sale.

Did you get your free $20 of Bitcoin from Bitbuy? I hope so because Bitcoin is back and we're partying (COVID responsibly) like it's 2017! Over the past few weeks, the cryptocurrency has surged to within striking distance of an all time high.

What's causing the spike? Traders speculate that it's the entrance of professional investors and hedge funds that's driving the price.

Should you buy? Let's hear from the experts. Jack Krager, a currency analyst at LMAX Exchange, speculated that BTC could hit new all time highs but... many traders also expect that the drop from these levels could be severe.Just another day in the wild west of cryptocurrency trading!

There's still 88 days until Valentine's Day but the NDP and Conservatives are in love... over holding the federal government to account on their policy towards China.

In a rare moment of unity, the parliamentary opposition voted to force the Government to decide within 30 days if China's Huaiwei Technologies can supply equipment for Canada's 5G network.

Why does this matter? The Trudeau Government has delayed making a decision on Huawei as the company's CTO Meng Wangzhou is in Vancouver awaiting possible extradition to the US and the ongoing detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China.

Telcos want to use the cheaper Huawei equipment to build out their 5G networks but opponents worry that the devices will give China a backdoor into our telecommunications infrastructure.

Zoom out: This motion is the latest in the China-Canada-US power struggle that's left us in a pretty awkward position... Stuck between two superpowers, Canada is going to have to choose whether we stand with our long time ally or an emerging power.