Every Friday we feature someone in the Canadian tech, finance, or startup space doing something cool and pick their brain to get practical and actionable tips and advice for the rest of us. 

 

This week we are featuring Stefany Nieto, Executive Director of  Green Iglu, a company tackling food insecurity in Canada by building dome greenhouses.

Earlier this week, the Kazakhstan Tourism Board released a series of trendy internet videos showcasing the countries more scenic spots.

The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is developing their own search engine to compete with Google.

The health of our economy runs through Canada’s biggest cities. That’s why the Federal Government announced $500 million in funding that cities will share to quickly build 3,000 new affordable housing units.

The markets took a beating yesterday as COVID-19 cases surged around the world.

The U.S. election is now less than a week away so let's take a peek and see what our neighbours are up to...

We hate to say it, but yesterday was not a great news day COVID-wise. 

TikTok has announced a partnership with Ottawa-based e-commerce platform Shopify. 

 

The deal will allow people with Shopify stores to run TikTok marketing campaigns from their Shopify dashboard.

When you get down to it, nothing is more important to our economy than energy. Everything else we do is shaped by how much energy, where it comes from, how much it costs — you get the point. 

 

So yesterday when Bloomberg's annual New Energy Outlook report came out, we paid attention.

The United States Senate voted nearly along party lines, 52-48, to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote against.

Get ready for that random friend from high school to start sending you Farmville invites again, Facebook is taking a big new step into gaming. The Social Network is launching a new suite of cloud games which will be playable for free.

As markets opened yesterday Samsung  and its affiliates saw their stocks jump reacting to news of the death of  company chairman Lee Kun-hee. This may be the most anticipated death in Korean business history, as Lee Kun-hee has been on his deathbed since suffering a heart attack six years ago. The death of the company’s chairman will have significant impacts on Samsung.

Brookfield, the massive Canadian asset manager, announced a pair of deals that saw them flipping Simply Self Storage for $1.2 billion and spending $1.2 billion to buy Genworth insurance.

Ant Group has been on the path to going public for months now, but yesterday the world got a glimpse of just how big an ant can be. $34 billion big. That’s how much new money will be raised as part of the IPO, valuing the business at $310 billion. The public offering which will see shares traded on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges will be the largest IPO ever.

CBD: Toronto-based Mary Agrotechnologies is the latest recipient of a rare and hard to get license to grow hemp-derived CBD in China.

History of Internet Porn: A fun piece in Wired chronicling the history of internet porn and how the industry pioneered early internet marketing.

Groovy, Baby: Toronto psychedelics company Field Trip just expanded to New York and Inside Hook gives you a look at what to expect in their newest clinic.

White House Infection: A number of Vice President Mike Pence’s staff were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19. The Vice President tested negative and continues to campaign.

COVID-19: Quebec is officially the first province in Canada to reach 100,000 total COVID-19 cases as the infection continues to surge across the country.

Murder Hornets: The first murder hornet nest in North America was found in Washington State, just South of the BC border.

The Federal Government’s airline bailout package is nearly ready for takeoff. Last week, The Globe reported that Federal Cabinet is deliberating a targeted bailout package for domestic air carriers. 

John Horgan’s bet paid off. In late September, the BC premier made a gamble that support for his government would trump anger over calling an unnecessary election during a global pandemic. He was right.