Good morning. Cyber experts have discovered an army of North Korean operatives that used AI and stolen identities to land hundreds of remote jobs across the U.S. and Europe. Between 2020 and 2024, these fake workers managed to make US$6.8 million, largely by having AI agents work multiple jobs at once.
It’s a really tough look for the HR execs who boasted about the new hire being a ‘great cultural fit’.
Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.
MARKETS
| ▼ | TSX |
32,541.93 |
-0.91% |
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| ▼ | S&P 500 |
6,632.19 |
-0.61% |
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| ▼ | DOW JONES |
46,558.47 |
-0.26% |
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| ▼ | NASDAQ |
22,105.36 |
-0.93% |
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| ▼ | GOLD |
5,061.7 |
-1.25% |
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| ▲ | OIL |
98.71 |
+3.11% |
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| ▼ | CAD/USD |
0.73 |
-0.59% |
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| ▲ | BTC/USD |
71,514.66 |
+1.12% |
Earnings to watch: Canadian retailers Alimentation Couche-Tard and Lululemon will hold their earnings calls on Tuesday, while FedEx — which just dethroned UPS as the most valuable U.S. shipper — will report its earnings after the bell on Thursday.
ECONOMY
Hormuz closure causing helium shortage
It’s about to be a very difficult time to be a clown or balloon animal artist.
What happened: Helium prices have doubled since the Iran war began thanks to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on Qatar, the world’s second-largest helium producer.
Why it matters: Helium isn’t just useful for making your voice sound funny. It’s also a critical ingredient in MRI systems, semiconductor manufacturing, welding, rockets, and fibre optics. That means a shortage could quickly ripple through other supply chains, particularly electronics and chips, which are already in high demand because of the AI boom.
Zoom out: Other important commodities are also likely to be in short supply because of the war. A third of the world’s fertilizer and ammonia supply also runs through the Strait, which could impact this year’s growing season and lead to higher food prices.
What’s next: Qatari officials have said that even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened tomorrow, it would take “weeks to months” for shipping to return to normal. And it sure doesn’t look like it’s going to reopen tomorrow.—TS
BIG PICTURE
Source: @MarkJCarney / X.
Canada and Nordic countries look to form a ‘middle power’ bloc. At a summit in Oslo, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his counterparts from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland vowed to collaborate more, specifically on Arctic security, though the leaders were tight-lipped on details. All of the prime ministers criticized Donald Trump’s Greenland threats, though they insisted Russia is still the real threat in the Arctic. (Globe and Mail)
Iran refutes Trump’s claim that they’re in talks to end war. Despite Trump saying that Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted they haven’t asked the U.S. for talks or a ceasefire. The U.S. president also called on allies to send warships to keep open the Strait of Hormuz, though no countries have agreed to do so. (Bloomberg News)
Ottawa loosens temporary foreign worker rules for rural areas. Employers in rural regions across Canada will now be allowed to fill up to 15% of their workforce with low-wage temporary foreign workers (TFW), up from 10%. The feds say the changes to the TFW program are in response to labour shortages in rural communities. (CBC News)
📡 What else is on our radar:
The chair of the U.S.’s broadcast regulator is threatening to revoke news networks’ licences over their coverage of Trump and the Iran war.
Canada will release 23.6 million barrels of oil as part of the IEA’s push to stabilize crude prices.
Ottawa is considering co-developing a new generation of fighter jets with the U.K., Italy, and Japan.
One Battle After Another won Best Picture at the Oscars last night.
LOOKOUT
What’s happening this week
Source: Shutterstock.
📊 February inflation data. Statistics Canada drops the Consumer Price Index for February today. This report won’t factor in impacts of the war in the Middle East, and forecasters expect it to show headline inflation right in line with the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, if not a touch below it.
🏦 Interest rate decisions in Canada and the U.S. The Bank of Canada is expected to leave interest rates at 2.25% on Wednesday, even if inflation does come in cooler than expected today. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is also expected to stand pat, but will also be issuing an updated forecast for the coming months. That will be a challenging task given what’s going on in energy markets at the moment.
🇲🇽 U.S. and Mexico open CUSMA talks. The review of the CUSMA will pick up pace this week as the U.S. and Mexico open formal bilateral trade talks after Canada-U.S. negotiations restarted earlier this month. The review must be complete by July 1, by which point the three countries will have to agree to extend the deal for 16 years or punt the issue for another year. At any point, the U.S. could also opt to pull out of the deal entirely with six months’ notice.
TECH
Meta readies major layoffs
Meta is pushing all its chips into the AI pot, and it’s ready to cut jobs to cover the bet.
Driving the news: Meta is reportedly planning to lay off up to 20% of its workforce, nearly 16,000 jobs, as it continues to pare back parts of the business that don’t centre around AI, per Reuters. The company already laid off over 1,000 workers in January.
Why it’s happening: Meta has essentially given up on virtual reality headsets and the Metaverse, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg was at one point so enthusiastic about that he renamed his whole company after it. Now, Meta has pivoted hard to AI, investing in data centres, acquiring startups, and luring top talent away from rivals with nine-figure salaries.
To offset the AI race’s eye-watering costs, Meta is starting to lay off workers and slash the budgets of some non-AI divisions.
Why it matters: Tech layoffs have accelerated in the last few years. Some of that is a course-correction from overhiring during the pandemic, but some of them are premised on the view that AI tools can let companies do more with fewer people.
Nearly 39,000 workers have already been laid off in 2026, which is on pace to be roughly in line with the average layoff totals from the last three years.
Earlier this month, Block cut 4,000 jobs — nearly half its workforce — with CEO Jack Dorsey pointing directly to improvements in AI tools as the reason for the cuts, though skeptics pointed to overhiring as a more important factor.
Our take: A lucky few may be getting paid $100 million to build AI models, but it's a particularly rough time to be a young tech worker. Not only are entry-level jobs the most vulnerable to layoffs, but new grad hires in the tech sector are down 50% from 2019.—LA
ONE BIG NUMBER
💰 US$10 billion. Fee that the Trump administration is receiving for brokering the deal that kept TikTok operating in the U.S., an unprecedented arrangement for the U.S. government. The stakeholders in TikTok’s new American division, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, have already paid the Treasury Department ~$2.5 billion.
PEAK PICKS
Dinner and show: What an $800 night at the movies looks like (Bloomberg, paywalled).
Why the hardest workouts aren’t always the most effective.
The best meals to make with leeks, according to chefs.
How Quebec maple syrup producers are modernizing the ancient tradition.
What’s behind the growing trend of “job hugging.”
Try to crack the secret to these five optical illusions.
We’ve got another full slate of morning brain games: Today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and our newest game: Who’s Who.