The Peak on Saturday

Good morning. The FIFA 2026 World Cup draw yesterday was an odd affair, featuring brutal comedy skits, Wayne Gretzky butchering countries’ names, and Donald Trump receiving a fake award. But after the dust settled, we knew Canada’s opponents… sort of. 

Canada is in Group B and will face off against noted tax havens Qatar and Switzerland, as well as a third country to be named later. Depending on the FIFA Play-Offs, that nation will be one of Wales, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, or — most tantalizingly — Italy. 

A Canada—Italy matchup in Toronto might actually end with riot police in the streets.

—Quinn Henderson, Taylor Scollon

🛍️ Canadians spent 6% more on Black Friday shopping than they did last year, according to data shared with The Peak by Salesforce. (Add to Cart)

🧑‍⚖️ Around 10,000 criminal cases in Canada are being tossed out or paused every year because of a strict 30-month deadline to hold a trial. (Judge Ye Not)

🚨 Monthly active users of Google’s AI app Gemini jumped from 450 million in July to 650 million in October, causing panic at rival OpenAI. (Code Red)

📚 Scholastic sold its downtown Manhattan headquarters for US$386 million as the world’s top children’s lit publisher undergoes restructuring. (New Page)

🏦 The average Canadian pays $250 in banking fees annually; that number could drop as big banks offer new low-cost chequing accounts. (Cheque It Out)

An (entirely proverbial) earthquake just struck Hollywood.

What happened: Netflix is acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for US$82.7 billion, which, minus debt, values the studio at $72 billion. If the deal passes, it would put countless beloved properties under Netflix’s roof, as well as streaming rival HBO Max.

Why it matters: The deal would completely upend the film industry. According to analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, Netflix would become “the undisputed global powerhouse of Hollywood“ with a “content moat” that would end the streaming war, and an economic model that will likely kill legacy mid-sized studios. 

Yes, but: Getting the deal through regulators will be a Herculean challenge. Especially since the U.S. likely wants to see WBD owned by Paramount, a studio run by the son of Trump loyalist Larry Ellison, which has been an active collaborator in Trump’s cultural agenda.

Our take: Want to see the future of movies? Look no further than Space Jam: A New Legacy, in which Warner leveraged its vast archive of film history so LeBron James and Yosemite Sam could appear in Casablanca. If the deal goes through, Netflix is about to do the same thing, but on a much larger scale.—QH

🇩🇪 Germany boosts the military, discourages retirement. The German parliament narrowly voted in favour of introducing voluntary military service aimed at recruiting 18-year-olds, and also narrowly passed a measure to roll out tax breaks incentivizing retirees to work longer. In passing the latter bill, Germany's ruling coalition avoided a potential breakdown. (Reuters)

🇨🇳 Chinese Nvidia competitor pops off in market debut. Shares of Moore Threads, a “second-tier” Chinese chipmaker founded by a former senior Nvidia exec, rose by 425% on its first day of trading in Shanghai. It’s the second-largest mainland Chinese IPO of the year. (Financial Times)

🇮🇳 India backtracks on controversial app mandate. India revoked an order for all smartphones in the country to come with a state-owned security app pre-downloaded. Privacy advocates cried foul, while Apple and Google made it clear they wouldn’t comply. (Guardian)

🇮🇩 Over 1,500 dead after flooding in Southeast Asia. That number could rise as rescuers look for missing people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Indonesia, which has seen the most fatalities, is bracing for further damage as renewed rainfall hits several regions. (AP News)  

🇮🇷 Iran sentences dissident director to jail. Jafar Panahi was given a one-year sentence in absentia for “propaganda activities.” Panahi has been jailed before in Iran and banned from making movies. His newest film, It Was Just an Accident, won the Palme d’Or this year and is considered a lock to receive a Best International Feature Oscar nom. (Guardian)—QH

It’s not what you might expect in the middle of a trade war, but the latest jobs numbers from StatCan are something to smile about. 

What happened: Canada’s unemployment rate fell to a 16-month low and the economy added 54,000 jobs in November, beating analyst expectations. That brings the total job gains over the past three months to 181,000.

Why it matters: The stronger Canada’s economy is, the better a negotiating position it will be in when it sits down across the table from the U.S. to hammer out a trade deal — something that will likely happen next year, as the White House signals it’s considering pulling out of CUSMA.

Yes, but: Don’t pop the bubbly just yet. Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed, told The Peak there are some below-the-surface signs that give him pause. Among his yellow flags: the fact that total hours worked have been flat for a few months, and that the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH), Canada’s other main jobs report, hasn’t looked as positive.—TS

Eat a cool bowl of gazpacho in honour of National Gazpacho Day — a very real holiday. Usually this time of year one would eat a warm soup not a cold one, but we know that you have a renegade spirit that’s unbeholden to seasonal expectations. So check out this recipe.

Read House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk. This 1998 novel from the Nobel Prize-winning Polish author had been out of print in English for years, until this new edition came along. It’s a beguiling, eerie portrait of the inhabitants of a remote Polish village.

Watch Jay Kelly on Netflix. The new film from acclaimed director Noah Baumbach stars George Clooney as a glamorous movie star (fitting) reevaluating his life, with Adam Sandler in tow as his devoted manager. The Sandman, in particular, is generating major Oscar buzz.

Listen to Scrap by Cleopatrick. The duo, originating from Cobourg, Ontario, are back with their second album of 2025. It comes with a simple, but effective proposition: listen if you like fuzzy ‘n’ scuzzy guitars, pounding drums, and a ‘crushing beers in the garage’ energy.—QH

Congratulations to the winners of last week's cartoon caption contest and thanks to everyone who submitted!

Want to see this week's cartoon and try your hand at another caption? Click here and give us your best witticism.

Get the weekend going with The Peak’s Saturday Crossword!

Then, put on your detective’s cap and pick out the fake headline. 

Keep scrolling for the answer.

If #4 struck the wrong chord, that’s because it’s fake.