Just plane embarrassing

Canada’s delegation to the G20 Summit is finally on its way back home after proving that in this country, no one is safe from flight delays. 

Driving the news: Prime Minister Trudeau and his squad spent two extra nights in New Delhi after a technical issue left the 36-year-old government-issued plane grounded, necessitating a rescue plane to be sent. Jeez, didn’t Joe Biden have some spare room on Air Force One to help them out? 

Lithium deposit found in US may be world’s largest

Heading west for a gold rush? So 19th century. It’s 2023: Miners these days want to hear about lithium “in dem thar hills.

Driving the news: New analysis found that a volcanic crater in Nevada could hold the largest deposit of lithium in the world. 

US, India score G20 wins at China’s expense

China and Russia’s leaders may have decided to skip this year’s G20 gathering in New Delhi, but everyone else managed to get along just fine without them.

Why it matters: India and the US emerged as the winners from this year’s summit, with both countries advancing some of their own priorities while holding the American-led bloc together on some contentious issues. 

The Peak at TIFF 2023

The 48th Toronto International Film Festival—Canada’s largest film fest—is underway. Armed with a press pass, The Peak is on the ground and will watch some exciting flicks before they make their way to the general public. Here are the five we’re most excited for:

Why is violence breaking out at Eritrean festivals across Canada?

Throughout the summer, violence has erupted at Eritrean cultural events across Canada and the world between protestors and attendees. The explanation for why is complicated.  

Driving the news: The most recent clash in Calgary over the Labour Day long weekend involved as many as 150 people and sent a dozen to the hospital.  One Calgary police chief called it the “largest violent event to happen in our city in recent memory.”

Jobs report sends mixed signals

The latest job numbers are in, and they’re sending more mixed signals than a crush who likes all of your Instagram stories but won’t answer any of your texts.

Driving the news: 39,900 net new jobs were added to the economy in August, doubling expectations and keeping the unemployment rate steady at 5.5%, Stats Canada reported.

China takes a bite out of Apple

Imagine this: You’re a company, and your second-biggest market, which generates almost a fifth of your revenue, suddenly enacts a partial ban on your products.

Apple is currently living out that nightmare. 

Cars are less private than a nude beach

Cars are packed to the gills with technology these days, leading to various problems like production shortages, rampant theft, and now, major privacy concerns

Driving the news: A new study by the Mozilla Foundation deemed modern cars the “worst category of products for privacy” that it had ever reviewed. Out of the 25 car brands Mozilla looked at, every single one was judged to disclose more personal info than necessary.

India opens its arms at this year’s G20

A who’s who of global leaders are landing in New Delhi as the annual G20 Summit starts tomorrow… or later today if you factor in the time difference.

Driving the news: Host country India (which might be trying to soft launch a new name for itself) has chosen “One Earth. One Family. One Future.” as the theme of the conference and hopes to focus discussions on sustainable development and spreading economic growth. 

Streaming may get more lucrative for musicians

For artists who don’t change the economic outlook of a city with a couple of concerts, some extra money from a new royalty deal could go a long way. 

Driving the news: Universal Music—the world’s largest record company—has cut a deal with French streaming service Deezer to change the way royalties are paid to artists, a move that could be the first domino to fall in the reshaping of music streaming’s business model. 

Return to office… now

As Labour Day fades from sight in the rearview mirror, more Canadian employers are telling, not asking, employees to return to the office for at least a few days of the week. 

Driving the news: Among Canadians with hybrid work setups, about 60% are fully remote, down from 75% earlier this year, per a report from Indeed. With the summer holiday season over and businesses looking to start fresh for the fall, that number is poised to fall even further.

Tiff holds rates but leaves the door open for hikes

The Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate steady at 5% yesterday, but don’t call it a pivot—they’re ready to hike again if that’s what it takes to whip inflation, and they want to make sure everyone knows it.

Driving the news: The BoC said, “evidence that excess demand in the economy is easing” justified holding interest rates steady, but emphasized that it was “prepared to increase the policy rate further if needed.”

China’s got chips, too

As the US-China chip war continues to run hot, a new smartphone has entered the chat. 

Driving the news: A Bloomberg report revealed that the Mate 60 Pro, a new phone from Chinese multinational Huawei, is powered by an advanced chip made by SMIC (China’s top chip maker), a sign that the country's chip development has taken a big step forward. 

Canada makes friends in the Indo-Pacific

At an international summit of Asian countries, the Prime Minister of Indonesia got a custom Team Canada basketball jersey, and Canada got a shiny new foreign partnership. 

What happened: Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—an economic bloc of ten Indo-Pacific countries, including Indonesia and Singapore—signed a Strategic Partnership, a mostly symbolic gesture that recognizes increased cooperation. 

The rise of the athlete influencer

Athletes: They’re just like you and me. They eat, sleep, and are painfully aware of how many views their latest Instagram story is getting. 

Driving the news: As the US Open continues, Genie Bouchard will be on the sidelines after failing to qualify. Despite this, and the fact she also failed to qualify for Wimbledon this summer, a recent study ranked her as the fifth-most valuable Canadian athlete influencer

Feds urged to create disaster response force

While Canadian troops have been used to fight unprecedented wildfires this summer, some say there’s a better solution. 

Driving the news: Canada’s former army commander, Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie, is urging Ottawa to create a national response team dedicated to fighting natural disasters, per the CBC.

ChatGPT enters its freshman year

It’s back to school for students across Canada, and teachers are preparing to contend with a new presence in the classroom that’s shaping up to be more disruptive than the class clown: Artificial intelligence.

What to do this weekend

Our picks for what to eat, read, watch, and listen to this weekend.

Ricard Gil on Meta’s news block

Yesterday, the federal government tried to smooth things over with tech giants by offering them an exemption from the Online News Act, a contentious new law that requires Google and Meta to pay up for carrying links to news articles. For a price tag of $234 million, that is. 

In light of the continued showdown between tech giants and the feds, Ricard Gil, a professor at the Smith School of Business, joined us on Free Lunch by The Peak to explain how a similar scenario played out in Spain over a decade ago (hint: it did not end well). 

India and China clash on borders

Whom amongst us has not rehashed a long-running dispute mere days after committing to de-escalating tensions?

What happened: Per the BBC, India is taking issue with a newly released Chinese map that lays claim to what India considers its territory. The map in dispute shows the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, and the disputed Aksai Chin plateau, as belonging to China.