Tit-for-tat

Good morning. Harvard University has begun selling a US$699 business course that pairs aspiring entrepreneurs with AI video avatars of the faculty’s professors. Students meet with their robo-profs weekly to conduct practice boardroom meetings and pitches and are given (supposedly) realistic, live feedback from their instructors. 

It’s a bit creepy to spend eight weeks pitching your startup to a robot, but for less than the cost of a new iPhone, maybe it’s worth it to be able to say you (technically) went to Harvard.

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Earnings to watch: Canada’s Big Six banks report earnings this week and will look to continue their hot streak of strong quarterly results that have propelled their share prices up sharply this year. Nvidia, an important AI bellwether, will also be in the spotlight when it reports on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is “at war” with the U.S. over trade after negotiations to avoid new tariffs on Canadian imports collapsed.

Catch up: In an address to the nation on Saturday, Carney said the U.S. derailed trade talks by adding last-minute demands that were unacceptable and suggested that he no longer trusted American commitments, saying they were “written in pencil.”

Why it matters: The new so-called section 338 tariffs imposed by Donald Trump will raise duties to 50% on hundreds of goods amounting to around 5% of Canada’s exports to the U.S.

What’s next: Canadian officials have not detailed what products will be affected by retaliatory tariffs, but analysis by RBC Economics suggested that they could be designed to encourage more domestic buying of goods that have been targeted by U.S. tariffs.

Yes, but: In practice, aggregate numbers likely do not paint an accurate picture of how painful the tariffs will be in targeted sectors that depend on complex, cross-border supply chains. Economist Trevor Tombe estimates that 90,000 jobs in Canada will be lost if the tariffs remain in place, including in sectors and provinces not directly targeted.—TS

Usage of Anthropic’s newest model is flat. Two months after its release, usage of the AI lab’s Fable model has levelled off, making up only 11% of total spending on Anthropic tools. The lower-than-expected adoption of Fable, the most expensive of Anthropic’s models, comes as usage of more affordable Chinese AI models has gained traction. (Financial Times)

Zelenskyy is rejecting calls for a national election. The Ukrainian president said calling an election during Russia’s war would “destroy” the country, dismissing calls from his recently fired defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, to send Ukrainians to the polls. The suspension of elections since Russia’s invasion has been broadly supported by the public, though corruption allegations and Fedorov's sudden dismissal have reignited criticism of Zelenskyy’s government. (Reuters)

Unifor and General Motors agreed on a new contract. The union representing ~4,600 GM workers said it has reached a deal with the automaker which is in line with the pact it negotiated with Ford last month. Talks with Stellantis are set to begin next month. (The Canadian Press) 

📡 What else is on our radar: 

Youth mental health challenges are rising fast, and too many young people face long wait times and real barriers before they ever reach the right support. That gap has consequences. The good news? You can help close it.

Since 2013, the RBC Race for the Kids has raised more than $29 million for Sunnybrook's Family Navigation Project (FNP), connecting youth aged 11 to 29 with clinically trained navigators who guide them to timely mental health and addiction care. Your fundraising dollars make that possible.

Here's what getting involved looks like:

Join us for the RBC Race for the Kids on September 19 at Mel Lastman Square. Register and make a self-donation today!

⛰️ Jackson Hole retreat. All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at this week’s  Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, an annual gathering of the world’s central bankers. Investors will hope for some clarity from Warsh on how he intends to deal with stubborn inflation and turbulence in the bond market, where yields on U.S. Treasuries have continued to rise despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent buying back U.S. debt in a (so far unsuccessful) bid to push them down.

📊 New economic growth report. Friday’s GDP data is likely to show Canada’s economy continuing to rebound, with better-than-expected growth confirmed in Q2. Strong exports and a boom in auto production have both been factors driving that success — and neither is likely to continue with higher U.S. tariffs in place, so this could be the last positive GDP update for some time as the headwinds facing the economy pick up. 

🇪🇺 Iceland votes on EU talks. The island nation will vote on whether to resume talks to join the EU, a process that was abandoned in 2013. The decision could spark a renewed wave of interest in enlarging the bloc — Montenegro plans to join in 2028, while Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova have all expressed interest in acceding to the Union.

The world’s largest retailer is looking to grow its fashion reputation beyond basic T’s, bargain jeans, and bulk socks. 

What happened: Walmart is launching a new women's clothing line called Scenario aimed at younger, more affluent shoppers, per the Wall Street Journal. It marks the 10th in-house brand that Walmart fashion has launched since 2020. 

Catch-up: Walmart has taken a few swings at pricier apparel with little success. In the mid-2000s, it debuted new lines at New York Fashion Week (at its own Times Square runway show, no less), took out eight-page spreads in Vogue, and even opened a Manhattan office dedicated to staying on top of fashion trends.

Why it’s happening: Walmart has struggled to grow sales as of late. Last week it reported its slowest sales growth in more than six years. Getting its massive customer base to add higher-margin items (like clothes) to their cart could be a way to turn that around.—LA

Every year, leaders are blindsided by changes they didn't see coming. Not because the signals weren't there, but because they weren't looking for them.

This October, join the DeGroote Foresight Lab to develop the tools and mindset needed to anticipate disruption, challenge assumptions and make better decisions in uncertain times.

Whether you're looking to strengthen your strategic thinking, develop futures literacy, or connect with a community of forward-looking professionals, there's a program designed for you.

Coming this October:

Registration is open and early bird pricing is still available. Secure your spot before programs reach capacity.

🎓 10%. Decline in applications from foreign students to American colleges this year, the largest drop in at least a decade. The U.S. has moved limit the number of international students by changing visa rules, a move that’s expected to add to financial pressures on colleges.

Don’t forget your morning puzzle fix: We’ve got today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who.