- 19,023,737 doses have been administered in Canada, as of writing. 46.2% of Canadians have received at least one dose, 3.8% of Canadians are fully vaccinated, 87.4% of doses delivered have been administered.
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Percent of population who have received at least one dose: Israel: 62.8%, U.K: 54.1%, U.S: 47.2%, Canada: 46.2%, E.U: 32%.
- The feds are investing ~$200 million in a Mississauga-based mRNA vaccine plant.
- New research suggests that mixed COVID-19 shots are a safe bet.
May 18, 2021
One step at a time
Good morning. There's a mourning dove that's nesting outside of my window, and I have to say its owl-like coos are a great way to start my mornings.
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Not to stress you out or anything but the International Energy Agency (IEA) laid out a long to-do list—400 items, to be exact—of steps we need to take to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.
- The report also notes that current pledges by governments will not be sufficient to meet a net-zero goal by 2050.
What’s the IEA? Founded in 1974, the IEA is a Paris-based organization that advises 30 countries—including Canada—on clean energy policy decisions.
Some of the steps in the organization’s report include: investing in renewable energy sources (like solar and wind power), phasing out coal and oil power plants, and transitioning to electric vehicles.
IEA director Fatih Birol said emissions are on the rise, despite countries setting ambitious climate targets and policies.
- In Canada, GHG emissions have gone up since we signed the Paris Agreement in 2016.
- Our emissions output went up in 2019, even with a carbon tax in place.
PM Justin Trudeau said Canada would cut GHG emissions by up to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Bottom line: We wouldn’t be surprised if reading this report made Trudeau a bit nervous. It’s another reminder of the difficulties we’re going to face reaching our climate goals while also growing a resource dependent economy.
There’s Siri, Alexa, and now Pluto. Google live streamed their developer conference yesterday and it looks like we’ll be getting some cool new products.
What happened: Google is taking a hint or two from Notion with a new ‘smart canvas’ that ties their productivity apps together.
- You’ll be able to @ to links or documents and start a Meet call within Google doc.
- There will be new assistive writing tools, including help to cut excess words (I know I’ll need that).
- Any Shopify merchant can now list their products across Google’s services—from Images to Maps—to reach more customers.
- It will pick out colours and widgets based on the colour of the wallpaper you pick out, making it easier to personalize your phone.
- The redesign is available on Google Pixel phones now, but will soon come to other Google products, including web apps.
Other announcements included:
- New tech from Google’s AI, which they demonstrated through having a convo with Pluto (it sounds like a less-robotic version of Siri);
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Starline: an experimental setup that uses AI and sensors to make video calls feel eerily like IRL;
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About this Result: a Google search feature that will tell you more about the source you’re getting information from;
- A shortcut to deleting your recent search history in the Google app and a tool that’ll help you ID a skin condition from a photo
What we missed: Some way to make your messages from Android to iPhones not appear in that green bubble. Seriously, I’m tired of getting roasted over this.
Toronto-based e-commerce company Knix has raised $53 million to fund a serious growth plan, including a push into the U.S. market.
- They didn’t take money from just anyone: Knix founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths wouldn’t consider investors who raised her pregnancy as a concern (seems like a fair rule).
What’s Knix Wear? Based in Toronto, Knix creates functional and sustainable undergarments. The brand is best known for their leak-proof underwear.
- Their sales have doubled since 2019.
NY-based private equity firm TZP led the funding round. Other investors in Knix include celeb Ashley Graham, Yard Ventures, and Acton Capital.
- Knix will use the funds to grow their footprint in the U.S., open more storefronts in the U.S. and Canada, hire up to 200 people in the next two years, and introduce new products.
Bottom line: Knix’s latest round is a notable win for women entrepreneurs who got just 2.2% of global VC funding in 2020.
This could be Amazon’s big break (it’s about time, isn’t it?). The tech giant is in talks to buy movie studio MGM for US-$9 billion, according to The Information.
- Amazon’s offer is much higher than MGM’s market value of US-$5.5 billion.
Amazon is more than willing to make pricey media and entertainment investments to keep their Prime customers happy.
- Amazon spent US-$11 billion on movies, TV shows, and music for its streaming services in 2020.
- They bought the rights for Lord of the Rings for US-$250 million, which is now being produced into a show, in 2017.
As of April, Amazon had over 200 million Prime members, up from 150 million in 2019. That’s double Netflix’s subscriber base.
If the sale goes through, Amazon will have access to a treasure trove of titles like A Star Is Born, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the James Bond franchise.
Zoom out: The pandemic boosted Amazon sales, but also helped them gain traction in the streaming wars against competitors like HBO and Netflix. The MGM deal could provide Primer customers with even more content to keep them entertained.
Good news for environmentally conscious luxury sports car: Lamborghini announced it’ll offer hybrid gas-electric models by the end of 2024.
- The auto maker wants to halve their cars’ carbon emissions by 2025.
Lamborghini asked their customers (aka rich people) about the hybrid model and enough of them were into the idea. And they aren’t the only upscale automaker moving into the EV market:
- Ferrari is making its electric debut in 2025, while Aston Martin and Drako are working on electric models of their cars.
- Lamborghini is also working on a fully electric car, but it’ll be a while until it hits the markets.
The challenge for supercars is existing car batteries aren’t able to supply the power they need to go very fast, very quickly, while remaining relatively small and light.
- Lamborghini’s electric model would be a four-seater instead of a two-seater to support the batteries.
- Side note: It’s no Lamborghini, but Ford will reveal an electric version of America’s favourite (and best-selling) F-150 later this morning.
Vroom vroom: Don’t worry, the EV switch won’t affect the Lamborghini’s sound because there won’t be a change to the engine itself.
- CP Railway's largest shareholder (who also owns a bit of CN) is calling on CN to drop their bid for Kansas City Southern.
- SOS: we're running out of land.
- It's time to refill those gasoline bags, I guess (credit to reader Matt B).
- TD Canada lost this couple's retirement savings.
- Teens can now invest through Fidelity.
- Watch out: the cicadas are coming.
- Are TikTok stars mediocre?
- Brands are doing weird things on social media.
- Uhh...maybe it's a good thing the McFlurry machines aren't working.
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