The feds just told Meta, “Oh, you wanna be withholding? Well, two can play at that game.” 

What’s happening: The federal government has suspended its advertising on Facebook and Instagram—worth about $10 million annually—in response to Meta’s decision to block Canadian news content for Canadian users once the Online News Act comes into effect.

• Québec Teleco Quebecor, which owns the Journal de Montréal and Journal de Québec newspapers, also pulled ads from Facebook and Instagram in retaliation.  

Catch-up: The act will force major online platforms to strike deals with publishers for linking to their content. The intention was to give publishers that have lost ad dollars to social media companies—which have profited off of their content—a ‘lil extra something.

• Meta claims Facebook generated over 1.9 billion clicks in Canada for news articles between April 2021-2022—traffic they claim is worth over $230 million for publishers.
  

Why it matters: Ottawa hopes that playing hardball will bring Meta to the bargaining table, where it can be talked into reversing the incoming ban. 

Yes, but: Holding strong could backfire. Meta already thinks it can live without news. It probably can live without the feds’ ad dollars, too.

• Meta also has a good reason to show no weakness as it looks to make an example out of Canada to scare off other countries from enacting similar legislation. 
  

Zoom out: On the flip side, Google—that other tech giant threatening a Canadian news ban—was praised by the feds for being open to finding a solution and will partake in the upcoming regulatory process.—QH

No end in sight for BC port strike. Neither side of the ongoing labour negotiations is reportedly budging in a discussion around the use of contractors in maintenance work. The union representing over 7,000 port workers is also asking for a one-time $8,000 inflation adjustment payment and an 11% raise. (Global News)

Canadian offices are emptying fast. In the second quarter, office vacancy rates across the country hit some of the highest levels seen in nearly 30 years. The national vacancy rate increased to 18.9% as office landlords face a lack of demand from tenants, stemming from relatively high interest rates and the looming threat of a recession. (Financial Post)

Rogers wants employees to walk. Shaw’s new owner is offering some employees departure packages for voluntarily leaving the company (if we knew the dollar amount, we’d tell you). Post-takeover, the company is trying to eliminate overlapping roles. As part of the deal, Rogers had committed to creating 3,000 new roles in Western Canada. (Global News)—LA

Canadian scientists are studying the ways killer viruses could actually help save lives. 

What happened: Canada’s first-ever study using phages to combat superbugs is showing some early signs of success. “What on Earth is a phage,” you ask? They’re common, naturally-occurring viruses that solely kill and selectively target bacteria.

• A study participant was deemed completely cured of a chronic antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infection, claiming she felt better within the first 48 hours of treatment.

How it works: Phages are extracted from a sample and then delivered to a patient like any other drug (intravenously, orally, etc.). Once in the body, they target a specific harmful bacteria, injecting their DNA into it and rapidly producing more phages until the bacteria dies.

Yes, but: Phages are pickier than a toddler at dinner time. Most only target one strain of bacteria (which varies from phage to phage), meaning treatments are expensive and clinical trials are difficult—since studies need to find enough infected patients with the same strain. 

Why it matters: Phage therapy’s unique nature makes it highly effective, while also mitigating risks that come with antibiotics, like copious side effects and the creation of new, drug-resistant superbugs. This is a huge deal as we enter the “post-antibiotic age.” 

• Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are on track to kill some 396,000 Canadians by 2050 according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, and 10 million worldwide. 

What’s next: Phage therapy it’s still in the trial phase in Canada, with the current study hoping to get an opinion on phage safety back from Health Canada within two years.

Zoom out: Canada lags behind other countries. Phage therapy is allowed in the US and parts of Europe as a last-resort medical option. Georgia, of all countries, is a leader in phage research because the Canuck who discovered phages moved there in the 1930s.—QH

Canadian asset management behemoth Brookfield signs a deal to buy the rest of insurance company AEL, valuing the company at US$4.3 billion.

Samsung Biologics—the biotech wing of the South Korean tech giant—announces two deals with Pfizer worth US$897 million to produce biosimilars.

Energy drink giant Monster Beverages acquires Bang Energy for US$362 million. Bang had filed for bankruptcy in part due to costs from a lawsuit by Monster.

Coca-Cola invests $70 million to build a new warehouse at its bottling facility in Calgary, during a time of growing demand for non-alcoholic drinks.

Overstock.com is changing its name to Bed Bath and Beyond after acquiring the defunct retailer’s brand name, domain, and loyalty program for US$21 million.

The gap between the richest and poorest Canadians is growing, but the reason why may surprise you.

Driving the news: The wealth gap between the top 20% of earners and the bottom 40% widened by 1.1 percentage points in the first quarter of the year, the fastest pace on record, per new Stats Canada data.  

• The top 20% of earners in Canada currently hold 67.8% of the country’s net worth, compared with the bottom 40% holding 2.7%, a 65.1 percentage point gap. 

So, why are the top 20% doing so well? One explanation is they have more exposure to the stock market and less to real estate. 

• The value of the average home is down 7.6% since this time last year, while the S&P500 is up 16% this year.

Zoom out: That dynamic has also hit younger households hard, as they typically have had less time to build up a diversified portfolio of assets. 

• Households aged 35 years and under derive ~88% of their wealth from real estate (usually their home), compared with ~40% for households aged 65 years and older. 

Why it matters: The widening wealth gap highlights the importance of real estate to low- and middle-income Canadians. Those of us who don’t own property (ahem) may want to see home prices collapse, but that would come with a massive reduction in wealth for many people who don’t own much beyond the roof over their head. —SB

🌭 62. Hot dogs eaten by Joey Chestnut to win Nathan’s hotdog eating contest for a record 16th time. Miki Sudo downed 39.5 dogs to win the women’s contest.  

📺US$280 billion. What top streaming companies, including Netflix, Paramount, Comcast, and Disney, have lost in market value since 2020 as they struggle with turning profits. 

🏎️ 230,000. Tickets sold to the Indianapolis 500 race back in May, good for the most attended live sporting event so far this year—yes, even bigger than the Super Bowl.

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