Crushed chips

Good morning. Thanks to everyone who added their compensation info to our new Canadian Salary Index. We’re close to critical mass, but we need a few hundred more responses before we have enough data to release anything informative, so get your submissions in!

Today’s reading time is 6½ minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index hit another record high yesterday as the tech sector continued to surge, this time led by equipment firm Celestica and software maker Constellation. Global tech shares did not fare so well (more on that below), but broader indexes picked up the slack, with investors rotating out of AI-exposed stocks and into more traditional businesses, like Coca-Cola (which saw its share price jump nearly 5%).

For the first time in a long time, it’s no fun to be holding chip stocks.

What happened: Shares of semiconductor companies around the world plummeted yesterday, extending a rout that began last week and dragging the Nasdaq down towards correction territory — 10% below a recent high.

Why it’s happening: Investors are spooked by the increasingly eye-popping revenue that tech companies will have to earn to justify the sums they’ve allocated to the data centres, energy, and other infrastructure needed to run their AI models — more than US$5 trillion between Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft through 2030.

Why it matters: The AI boom has fuelled a historic run-up in stocks, but that could reverse just as quickly if the story underpinning it begins to crack. Today and tomorrow will be important tests of that, as Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon all report earnings.—TS

Alberta will allow for privately paid medical tests. Starting this week, Albertans will be able to pay for their own diagnostic tests — including MRIs, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds — without a referral from a doctor. The move is part of a broader effort by the provincial government to introduce more private services into its healthcare system. In September, some doctors will be allowed to offer certain surgeries on a private basis while still working in the public system. (Global News)

Apple is launching a new smart home device. The new product, slated to launch toward the end of this year or the beginning of next, will reportedly be a hub built around Siri, which recently had its AI capabilities beefed up. The device will be directly competitive with Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Nest, and will feature built-in FaceTime, home security, an intercom system, calendars, music, and facial recognition to personalize the display based on who is nearby. (9to5Mac)

Vancouver approved the tallest towers in Canada west of Toronto. The proposal includes three towers — one 79 stories, the other two rising to 68 — amounting to 1,546 housing units and 920 hotel rooms, two things the city is notoriously short of. The project is expected to cost $2.8 billion; construction likely won’t get underway for another five years. (CBC News)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

Established nearly 30 years ago in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city, Altius Minerals is a diversified mineral and renewable energy royalty platform focused on long life assets with exposure to global growth trends.

On the way to its current market value of >$3B, management developed a track record of successful organic royalty creation and a disciplined approach to new investments – using a counter-cyclical strategy designed to preserve upside as the cycle turns.

With over $300M of available liquidity, Altius is well-funded and heading into the largest multi-year revenue inflection in company history.

Let’s look at the portfolio:

Learn more about Altius Minerals with Bullpen’s free research.

* Bullpen receives compensation from Altius Minerals for research coverage.

🤝 Meet Donovan Bailey. An icon of Canadian athletics, you know him as the former record-holder of the fastest 100-metre dash — a record he broke 30 years ago this week on his way to gold at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. He is also an entrepreneur and author of the 2023 memoir Undisputed. We chatted with Donovan about his past life as a stockbroker and the significance golf holds for retired athletes.

It's the 30-year anniversary of your gold-medal-winning performance in Atlanta. What do you remember most about that experience today?

I think in reflection, it was all about setting the standard in sport — a personal accomplishment, but also I think I'm reminded every single day of the fans. All of the incredible Canadian fans and track and field fans around the world, and what it meant to them.

I have a fantastic relationship with the fans, and I get to hear some incredible stories and people that name their kids after me, and their dogs, and their boats, and what it meant to them. So in reflection, I think it's awesome to have such an incredible relationship with Canadians. 

You used to be a stockbroker in Toronto before you became a professional sprinter. What did that experience, if anything, do to help you on the track?

I think one thing I learned was that I wasn't made to be in the office at that age. I hated being indoors. And that sort of structure, I just wasn't built that way then. I think I loved the structured environment, but I didn't have the patience to deal with business. I recognized back then, when I was on Bay Street, that I wanted to be outside. I wanted the freedom of sport. That’s what made me feel alive. What I do today — sitting on boards, being in the C-suite, raising capital, taking companies public — all of those things I would have never had the patience back then, no matter how much money you're paying me. 

What do you do in retirement that comes close to filling the adrenaline rush of being on the starting line? 

It's tough, but I'll tell you this — a lot of the reasons why professional athletes like myself retire and then attempt to tackle golf, it's because of that chase. The competition is not you versus the guy next door. The guy next door could be five foot one and 400 pounds. So golf, it's you versus you, versus the course. 

It’s a sport where you have to dedicate time to. I was training eight hours a day, every day. If you don't make that sort of commitment in golf, and clearly you can't unless you're on the pro tour, you're always gonna have that disappointment. But there are also signs of brilliance over those 18 holes. So I think golf is the one that allows a competitive mind to continue going.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Read the full Q&A here.

NYC desperately wants more Canadians to start spreading the news and leave today.

Driving the news: New York City Tourism launched a program called NYC’s Northern Neighbour Deal offering Canadians 30% discounts at participating hotels, restaurants, Broadway shows, and more between August 18 and September 7. If you ever dreamed of staying at the Hard Rock Hotel and seeing The Book of Mormon, now’s your chance!  

Why it’s happening: Canadian travel to the U.S. fell 25% last year, according to Statistics Canada data released last week, which resulted in a net spending drop of $3.3 billion. While early data has indicated a slight rebound in leisure travel stateside in 2026, continued Elbows Up sentiment and a perilously high U.S. dollar are still subduing cross-border visits.

Why it matters: It goes to show the significant impact Canadian travellers have on U.S. tourism when even one of the world’s premier travel destinations is scrambling to bring them back.—QH

💰 US$5.5 billion. Amount that Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay to settle about 69,000 consolidated civil cases alleging the company’s baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The major multinational continues to maintain that it did nothing wrong and simply wants to move on. The settlement must be accepted by at least 95% of claimants to go through.

Get cracking on today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!