It seems like unicorns aren’t so rare anymore: Toronto-based Alphawave IP filed to go public on the London Stock Exchange, according to The Globe.

What is Alphawave? It develops and licenses technology which enables semiconductor chips to process data faster. This will become critical as our networks continue to grow and data centres need an additional boost. 

Deliveroo put the London Stock exchange in an embarrassing situation last month, but that’s not deterring Alphawave from listing its shares in London. 

Big picture: While we’re sad to see Alphawave move to the UK, the global semiconductor shortage has revealed to everyone just how dependent our entire economy is on these pieces of hardware. Building a business in such a critical part of the world’s economy is not a bad bet at all and we wish them the best.

Eat the rich, said U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden is proposing doubling the current capital gains tax for Americans earning $1 million or more per year. 

What is a capital gains tax? Individuals or companies incur a tax on the appreciation of an investment when they sell it. In the U.S., this tax applies to assets that are held for more than one year. 

The capital gains tax will fund Biden’s $1 trillion “America’s Families Plan” which would extend child tax credits and paid leave, among other services to benefit lower- and middle-class Americans. 

Bottom line: Biden’s capital gains tax plan probably won’t be set in stone until later next week, but that didn’t stop U.S. stocks from diving when the news broke. 

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Yesterday we wrote that we hoped to get back to alleviating the climate crisis in 2021, and today Canada announced it will exceed its Paris climate targets and cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 45% within the next ten years. Not saying this is because of our request but surely it didn’t hurt.

But Canada’s target to reduce emissions 45% below our 2005 levels is still lower than the emissions targets set out by the U.S. (52%) and the U.K. (78%).

How Canada plans to do it:

Still, Trudeau’s 45% target is an ambitious goal, considering Canada is the only G7 country that increased its GHG emissions output after signing the Paris Agreement. 

Why we’re lagging:

Canada’s economy is more dependent on oil and gas than most other G7 states.

Big picture: Experts have said that the Federal Budget’s emphasis on incentives for companies and Canada’s carbon tax are a step in the right direction, but might not be enough. If Canada is going to hit its goals, it’s going to require a serious retooling of our economy.

Each swipe comes with a price. The government wants to lower merchants' credit card fees (aka interchange fees) as part of the Federal Budget announced earlier this week.

How do these fees work? Merchants pay a transaction fee every time a customer uses a credit card to pay. It basically protects the merchant's bank from any risk they take on from letting the transaction go through.

Excessive interchange fees have been a long standing issue: Walmart negotiated with credit card companies in 2017 to lower their interchange fees, but that’s harder for small businesses to tackle on their own. 

What’s next: Canada’s action to curb the fees could provide some much-needed relief to businesses, but it’s not yet clear how they plan on making it happen. The budget said they’d start with “consultations”—always a good first step, I guess.

Public health experts are alarmed: India recorded over 314k new COVID-19 infections yesterday, the highest since the pandemic first started last March. 

With a population of ~1.4 billion people, it’s the second-most populated country in the world. 

Some say that the Modi government mishandled the country’s COVID-19 response with a slow vaccine rollout and by dismissing the seriousness of the pandemic. 

In response to the rising infection rates, Canada announced it would ban flights to and from India for a month. 

Zoom out: India’s massive population and bureaucratic problems turned the pandemic into both a healthcare and logistical nightmare.  

Did you know that right now there’s an underground market on Facebook growing exponentially that nobody is talking about? 

It’s sports memorabilia raffles. People are raffling cards, autographs, and all sorts of other collectibles on Facebook groups — all in violation of Facebook’s terms of service. 

Now there’s a Canadian company that’s poised to make big business out of this underground activity. It’s called Razzall, and they have built the first dedicated platform for crowd purchasing. Launching 2 years ago they have rapidly grown their offerings. 

Razzall is raising capital through an equity crowdfunding campaign to grow the business, and you can own a piece of Razzall starting from $100.