Project Runway

Good morning. What time is it? What was once a simple question is no longer so straightforward, as different parts of the country diverge on how to deal with the time shift. 

B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories have all done away with the practice, which means it’s currently the same time in Winnipeg as in Toronto. Meanwhile in Quebec, the new premier says the province is going to scrap time changes, which will be strange for the many people who commute across the river between Ottawa and Gatineau. Ontario itself can’t even seem to agree on what time it is — western parts of the province are aligning their clocks with Manitoba and switching to permanent daylight saving time.

This is all becoming quite confusing, but on the other hand, now you’ve got a ready-made excuse for showing up late to a conference call.

Today’s reading time is 6 minutes.

Markets this week: Tech earnings continue this week with Apple, AMD, and Shopify reporting. Expect more volatility this week as investors digest the outcome of Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections (and a possible resumption of fighting between the U.S. and Iran, which Donald Trump has said would happen after the vote).

You can add supermodel to the list of jobs AI is coming for. 

Driving the news: Big brands including Calvin Klein, L’Oréal, and Mango are increasingly using AI tools to recreate human models' likeness, train models on their image, and even swap their faces with other models, according to a Reuters investigation.

Why it’s happening: According to one startup that specializes in AI model services (kind of a creepy niche), brands can cut their costs by 90% using these tools compared to photo shoots with human photographers and models. 

Why it matters: Making these AI-friendly contracts an industry standard could accelerate the job displacement of models, photographers, studio owners, and everyone else who typically touches a photo shoot. 

Yes, but: Brands risk alienating AI-weary customers. Vogue faced major backlash last year after publishing an ad with an AI-generated model, while Levis took similar heat for using AI to create more “diverse models” instead of actually hiring any diverse models.—LA

Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada are set to resume. Formal trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada are expected to resume soon, according to The Globe & Mail. Mark Carney said yesterday that he had a productive call with Donald Trump about the outlines of a possible deal, while Trump told the reporters that they had “the concept of a deal.” (The Globe & Mail)

Byelections were called for six ridings. Voters in six ridings in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec will elect new MPs on December 7. Two of the ridings were held by Liberals, two by Conservatives, one by the Bloc Québécois, and one by the NDP. The thin Liberal majority isn’t at stake, but Carney will look to grow his caucus’s ranks, particularly in Quebec. (CBC News)

The FBI said a North Korea-affiliated group was behind the Binance hack. The bureau alleged that a North Korean hacking group called TraderTraitor carried out the cyberattack that stole US$6.3 billion from the cryptocurrency platform, the largest-ever crypto theft. Binance began allowing customers to withdraw funds from its platform yesterday and said it would make all of its customers whole. (The Guardian)

What else is on our radar: 

From the iPhone to the ecosystem connecting it all, Apple has become part of everyday life. If you believe in the company’s ability to keep innovating, there’s more than one way to invest in its future.

Meet the Global X Apple PowerStock ETF (AAPP). It targets approximately 1.33x exposure to Apple, or ~$133 of exposure for every $100 invested, using light leverage without requiring a margin account.

Part of Global X’s PowerStock suite, AAPP focuses on capital appreciation rather than generating monthly income through covered calls. It also hedges foreign-currency exposure back to CAD and offers a lower entry point than buying a full Apple share directly.

Put more power behind your Apple position.

Leverage magnifies Apple’s stock moves in both directions, up or down.

🇺🇸 U.S. midterm elections. Americans will head to the polls tomorrow with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot. Opinion polls suggest the Democrats are favourites to win majorities in the House, while the Senate remains much closer. Even control over just the House, however, would allow the Democrats to throw up more obstacles to Donald Trump’s agenda and launch investigations into his and his associates’ conduct.

🇨🇦 Federal government tables its budget. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will release the federal government’s 2026 budget on Thursday, a plan that is expected to be heavy on tax tweaks and other investment incentives. The Parliamentary Budget Office projects a $63.3 billion deficit for 2026-27 and for Ottawa to balance its operating budget by 2028-29, a year later than the Carney government’s target.

📊 New Canadian jobs data. The day after the budget drops, Statistics Canada will release October’s Labour Force Survey. Employment fell by 68,000 jobs in September — the second straight month of job losses — with the unemployment rate rising to 6.5%. If October’s job numbers disappoint, a second interest rate hike from the BoC would be less likely. 

Like a dinner party host who has overcooked their entrees, OpenAI is trying to lower expectations.

What happened: OpenAI said it was cutting the target for its next fundraising by US$10 billion, from US$30 billion to US$20 billion. It’s also seeking a lower post-money valuation — US$1.25 trillion, down from US$1.4 trillion. 

Why it’s happening: The decision comes amid a sharp sell-off in AI-linked tech stocks that sent the Nasdaq 100 into correction territory last week. That’s been driven, at least in part, by anxious investors growing tired of waiting for historic AI investments to pay off. 

Why it matters: OpenAI’s fundraising hiccups are a sign of how much the investment climate for AI has changed in just a few months. While plenty of capital is still available, it’s no longer flowing quite so freely, and publicly traded hyperscalers — companies pulling up the money truck for data centres — are being punished for lavish spending.

Yes, but: Don’t confuse OpenAI trimming its sails a bit with an AI bubble popping (if there even is an AI bubble). Last week also brought a flurry of announcements from SpaceX, Meta, and Broadcom about new multibillion-dollar financing deals — deals that likely wouldn’t be happening if the sector were in really deep trouble.

The Peak is launching a new publication exclusively for Canadian financial advisors and wealth managers, Peak Advisor. It’s a weekly briefing covering the industry news, analysis, and scoops you need to stay ahead.

We’re accepting pre-registrations right now, and will begin sending the newsletter in the new year. Sign up now for free.

🗳️ 2.2 million. Ballots that Albertans cast for the separation referendum, a 70% turnout rate — 10 percentage points higher than the last provincial election. Across all 10 questions on the ballot, a total of 22.1 million votes were cast by residents. 

There’s no time like the present to tackle today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who.