Crazy train

Good morning. In what’s one of the wildest legal settlements in recent memory, eBay will pay a Massachusetts couple nearly US$50 million after employees allegedly tormented them for years. 

After the couple posted negative blog posts about eBay, they claim workers made death threats, stalked them online and in real life, and sent them intimidating and obscene deliveries like live cockroaches, bloody pig masks, and a book about mourning a spouse. 

Dang, who knew they had shooters like that? Remind us to never badmouth eBay.

Today’s reading time is 5 minutes.

Markets: Meta’s stock fell by as much as 7% in after-hours trading following an earnings miss; Qualcomm also fell after forecasting weak profit for the quarter. Microsoft showed revenue growth for its cloud business, but the broad tech stock slump continued apace yesterday, with the Nasdaq ending the day down 1.74%.

The Alto high-speed rail project increasingly looks like it’ll be cancelled before it even leaves the station.

What happened: Ontario’s provincial government appears to be turning against the proposal for a high-speed rail line linking Toronto to Quebec City.

Why it’s happening: It’s not coincidental that the criticism began after the federal government nixed the province’s plan to expand the Billy Bishop island airport in Toronto.

Zoom out: As we reported in May, the Alto project is already facing a groundswell of local opposition along its possible route (the final path of the line has not been fixed yet), largely organized through Facebook groups that have ballooned to tens of thousands of members. Local MPPs are facing mounting pressure from these constituents to oppose the plan.

Why it matters: Alto is now on extremely thin ice. The Parti Québécois in Quebec has pledged to pull out of the project if they form government in the province’s October elections, which, according to the polls, is the likeliest outcome right now. If Ontario also backs out, high-speed rail in the Toronto-to-Quebec City corridor may be dead for yet another generation.—TS

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady but signalled hikes ahead. Three Fed officials voted to raise interest rates, a sign the pressure is mounting to act on inflation that’s remained stubbornly above target for five years. Inflationary pressures have worsened recently as the Iran war has driven up energy prices, the AI boom pushes up the cost of electronics and memory, and tariffs start to bite. Yields on long-dated Treasuries jumped after the meeting yesterday, indicating investor skepticism that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh would take action to bring down inflation. (CNBC)

The federal government may be planning to end the “Netflix tax.” A document issued by the attorney general's office said it had been informed that the government intended to scrap the levy imposed on streaming platforms to help fund Canadian content and replace it with direct government support. A spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters said they had been told otherwise by federal officials, however, and asked for clarification. (CBC News)

The German utility Uniper will buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada. Uniper will purchase two million tonnes per year of LNG for up to 20 years from the Ksi Lisims project planned for northern B.C. Shipments are expected to start in 2032. The agreement is the first LNG supply deal between Canada and Germany. (The Canadian Press)

📡 What else is on our radar:

Snails might have something more to offer us than skincare mucus and escargot. According to a paper in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered the molecule that induces hibernation in snails and have synthesised it in drug form — it could potentially help human organs survive on less oxygen and fewer nutrients.

Why it matters: Unlocking a sort of hibernation for human organs would have revolutionary effects on transplants by better preserving transplanted organs and heart attack care by protecting hearts from stress. And that’s just the start of its potential implications. If we ever want to master interplanetary travel, hibernation will need to be part of it — enter the snail. 

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Drones: they’re not just for advanced warfare and airport subterfuge anymore.

What happened: DoorDash has received approvals from U.S. aviation regulators to operate delivery drones commercially, which it plans to start doing in the fall. What’s more, the company unveiled that it’s custom-building its own drones to manage some of its deliveries — though it will maintain partnerships with third-party drone operators to carry out others.

Zoom out: Drones have been touted as the next hot thing in food delivery, providing a way to reduce reliance on human labour, make deliveries more accessible for remote locations, and provide reliable service for mid-range trips that aren’t financially attractive for couriers. 

Why it matters: DoorDash building drones itself marks a big leap in the ongoing shift food delivery companies have made into becoming robotics companies, already evidenced by in-house robotics teams building their own autonomous robot couriers in recent years.

In Canada: Getting your Swiss Chalet chicken and rib combo air-dropped to your door is likely still some time away, as Canada lags behind the U.S. on drone regulations — new aviation licensing that would govern similar services only came into effect last November. However, if the concept takes off stateside, delivery giants will surely bring it here.—QH

🐟 ~900,000. Litres of rotten fish sauce a crew will remove and dispose of at an abandoned factory in St. Mary's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Disposal of the deserted sauce — and the rancid stench emanating from it — has been a contentious issue in the town for decades, but clean-up operations finally began this week and are expected to be complete by October. 

On your mark… get set… go play today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!