Citation needed

Good morning. The Donald Trump presidency is at the precipice of what could be its defining achievement. No, not peace in Ukraine. We’re talking about a new Rush Hour. 

Paramount will reportedly distribute Rush Hour 4, which will see Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reprise their roles of culture-clashing buddy cops. Apparently, Trump had been personally asking his ally, Paramount’s top shareholder Larry Ellison, to ensure it got made.

This is honestly one of the more relatable things Trump has ever done. Lord knows if we had that kind of sway, we’d be trying to get networks to revive our favourite cancelled TV shows. 

Today’s reading time is 5 minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index topped a new record high yesterday amid broad-based gains. The surge was spurred by optimism around U.S. interest rate cuts and infrastructure spending in Canada next year.

Just because a study has a long, jargon-filled title, that doesn’t mean it’s real.

Driving the news: A report prepared by Deloitte in May for the Newfoundland and Labrador government contains at least four citations of papers that don’t exist, per an investigation by the Independent. These imaginary studies are almost certainly the result of AI hallucinations.

Zoom out: It’s the second time this year an N.L. government report has faced hallucination accusations. In August, the province published a 10-year education roadmap with at least 15 fake citations. However, the premier’s office said it’s “not prioritizing” a review of AI policies. 

Why it matters: AI has completely upended the consultancy industry, which rapidly adopted the technology in an attempt to appear ‘with it’ and chase the productivity dragon. This has a direct impact on Canada, where governments are heavily dependent on big consultancies. 

Our take: We’ve reached the point where one should assume that a report put out by a consultant or government likely used gen-AI at some point in the creation process. And even with (apparently) rigorous vetting standards, that these reports should be more highly scrutinized.—QH 

Google is threatening the AI industry’s top dogs. Nvidia’s shares fell more than 2% following news that Meta is planning to buy Google-designed chips for its future data centres. Google, which was slow to get off the starting line in the AI race, has quickly caught up to industry leaders. Following the release of Google’s well-received Gemini 3 Model, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly told staff to brace for "rough vibes" as they try to catch up. (CNBC) 

Canada and India to cut uranium deal. The US$2.8 billion export deal will supply India’s nuclear plants with Canadian uranium, part of a larger nuclear partnership between Ottawa and New Delhi. Some experts believe Canada, which is already the second-largest producer of uranium in the world, stands to benefit in a big way from the resurgence in nuclear power. (Reuters)

Apple set to reclaim title as world’s top phone maker. For the first time in over a decade, the iPhone is expected to be the top-selling smartphone in the world by year's end, surpassing Samsung. The banner year has been driven by the iPhone 17 lineup, which drove double-digit iPhone sales growth in its two top markets, the U.S. and China. (Bloomberg News)—LA

The company accused of driving up your rent is quietly settling a price-fixing lawsuit.   

Driving the news: The U.S. Justice Department has settled a lawsuit against RealPage, an apartment-pricing company that was accused of allowing corporate landlords to collude with each other and inflate rental prices in Canada and the U.S.

Catch-up: A similar class-action lawsuit was filed against a dozen Canadian property managers and landlords last year, alleging the company’s AI software, YieldStar, was being used to share pricing data with each other and inflate rental prices in lockstep. 

Why it matters: Average rents in Canada were found to be higher in buildings that used the software. RealPage’s own marketing material boasted about a Canadian pilot project where buildings using YieldStar made up to 4% more in rental revenue than others. 

Bottom line: It’s unclear if limiting the data RealPage offers will have a real impact on price-setting, but some regulators aren’t waiting to find out. California and New York passed laws last month to crack down on rent-setting software, while cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle have now limited or banned the tools.—LA

📱 US$19 billion. Estimated TikTok Shop sales globally from July to September, thanks to 125% quarterly growth in the U.S. By comparison, eBay did $20 billion in sales last quarter. 

🏨 ~1,000. Sonder-leased rental units hospitality businesses Lark and Kasa are looking to take over following the Canadian-founded company’s collapse. Sonder was once valued at nearly US$2 billion. 

🤖 $52 million. How much AI-related jobs have contributed to Ontario’s economy over the last five years, about half of the entire value the sector has created across Canada.

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Add a dash of fun to your workday with today’s mini-crossword!