Stellantis executives looked around, saw the numerous drawn-out strikes that have happened this year, and told striking workers, “Let’s get this over with.” 

What happened: Stellantis became the last of the Big Three automakers (alongside Ford and GM) to reach a tentative new deal with its employees, repped by Unifor, after a strike that was so short some workers wouldn’t have even gotten the chance to hit the picket line. 

On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Marty Weintraub to talk about the challenges and opportunities that are facing Canadian retailers these days. 

Carnival Cruise Lines soon might have to spend a little bit less on cruise ship roller coasters and a little bit more on Covid lawsuit settlements.  

What happened: Australia’s Federal Court ordered Carnival, the world’s largest cruise line, to cover the medical expenses of a passenger who caught Covid during an outbreak aboard one of their ships in March 2020, which resulted in almost 700 Covid cases and 28 deaths. 

If you’re looking for some early Christmas gift ideas, nothing spreads holiday cheer quite like a doomsday survival kit. 

Driving the news: Driven in part by an increase in natural disasters, emergency prep is inching toward the mainstream, creating a not-so-niche market for everything from outdoor survival lessons to emergency essential kits, per The Wall Street Journal. 

While basketball fans will be focused on the NBA season tip-off this week, business fans will be more focused on the massive shake-up happening in media that’s set to reshape pro sports.

Driving the news: The NBA is heading into its first media-rights negotiations since 2014 when it was able to triple its media rights fees. The league is in a strong position to repeat that success, per The Wall Street Journal, even in a much-changed media landscape. 

Like a Transylvanian townsperson trying to ward off Dracula with garlic, Canada’s banking sector is trying to keep spooky times at bay with layoffs.

What happened: Scotiabank is the latest Canadian bank to roll out cost-cutting measures as the outlook for the economy worsens, moving to cut 3% of its employees (amounting to about 2,700 jobs) and bracing for a $590 million hit in restructuring charges this quarter.

Cigarettes. Hard drugs. Handing out electric vehicle (EV) battery plant subsidies. All of these are, apparently, highly addictive. 

What happened: The federal and Ontario governments have pledged nearly $1 billion in subsidies for a plant in Loyalist Township from Belgian EV battery group Umicore.

Entrepreneurs in Canada are getting harder to find than an apartment for under $2,000. 

Driving the news: There are 100,000 fewer business owners today in Canada than 20 years ago, with the rate of people choosing to start businesses down by more than half. With fewer small business openings, the rate of self-employment is notably down as well.

Light up a dutchie and pass it ‘pon the left-hand side (or do so when the workday is over) because today marks the fifth anniversary of weed legalization in Canada. 

Driving the news: Per newly released Stats Canada data, Canada’s cannabis sector is valued at $10.8 billion, an increase from the $6.4 billion valuation it held when legalization occurred but a far cry from the lofty $22.6 billion potential that Deloitte predicted in 2018. 

In the market for a new place? The bad news is that rent will be terrifying. The good news is, furnishing it just got cheaper! 

What happened: Ikea is slashing prices on a range of its furniture worldwide, as easing supply chain costs have made things cheaper to produce. In a world where food and gas prices remain sky-high, at least the famous Billy bookcase just saw a 20% discount.