Tim Hortons: Proposed settlement prompts privacy questions - CTV News

While a recent proposed settlement involving the Tim Hortons app may have raised the public's awareness around privacy protections, consumers are left having to look after themselves, one tech expert says.

On July 29, Tim Hortons reached a proposed settlement in multiple class action lawsuits alleging the restaurant's mobile app violated customer privacy.

It comes after federal and provincial privacy watchdogs found the app violated the law by collecting vast amounts of location data from its users for targeted advertising.

"If you're collecting points and you're getting free stuff, if you're not paying for that product, you are the product, and that's exactly what happened here and what other apps have been caught doing as well," tech and cybersecurity analyst Ritesh Kotak told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

As detailed in a report released on June 1 by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, investigators found the app asked for permission to access a device's geolocation, but misled many users to believe the information would only be accessed when the app was in use. Instead, the app tracked users as long as the device was on.

Kotak said users can turn off location tracking on their devices and that he personally likes to use different email addresses for different apps.

He also pointed to Bill C-27, legislation that aims to strengthen consumer privacy protections. Introduced mid-June, it is currently making its way through Parliament.

But as it stands, users are on their own when it comes to protecting their privacy, he said.

Tim Hortons plans to offer a free coffee and doughnut to affected users as part of the proposed settlement, although the agreement still requires court approval.

The company also would permanently delete any geolocation information it may have collected between April 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, and direct third-party services to do the same.

Altogether, Tim Hortons said the retail value of a free hot beverage is $6.19 and $2.39 for a baked good, plus taxes.

A hearing to consider the proposed settlement is scheduled to take place in a Quebec court on Sept. 6.

"Think about how much money Tim Hortons actually made by being able to aggregate this data and then derive some insights based on consumer behaviour," Kotak said.

"This kind of works out to $8.50 retail for the average person and I think most of us would agree that seems a bit unreasonable."

With files from The Canadian Press

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2022-07-31 15:12:00Z
1517248401

Higher prices hit different for young people - Canada News - Castanet.net

Photo: David Klein

Actor David Klein is paying as much as a typical Toronto rent on his student debt since he moved back in with his parents.

The pandemic upended David Klein’s burgeoning acting career in New York, but the 26-year-old was fortunate he was able to return to the comforts of his childhood home in downtown Toronto.

Still, with the cost of almost everything on a sharp upward trajectory and exchange and interest rates working against him, Klein doesn’t expect to return to a more independent life for several more years.

“I don’t have an income right now that would sustain both paying a huge amount of student debt and also rent, which is increasing by a lot,” said Klein, a dual citizen who borrowed almost $100,000 to attend New York University’s four-year theatre school program and was preparing for his first off-Broadway play when the pandemic hit in 2020.

The long-standing high cost of accommodation in Toronto has this year been joined by broader inflation, with prices for food, fuel, transport and a range of other basic and discretionary goods pushed up by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and worker shortages.

Younger people are feeling the pinch more than older folks due to differences in their spending habits, according to Toronto-Dominion Bank, which in March took a closer look at the demographic distribution of pricing pain in the United States.

“The cost of clothing, the cost of haircuts, a lot of grooming and style-related products, that’s definitely increased,” said Klein. “For someone who is trying to maintain my appearance, I’m more mindful of that element.”

Central banks, including the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve, have raised interest rates abruptly to try to tame the price hikes, but that is also hurting people like Klein and thousands of other post-secondary graduates who are trying to pay off debts.

Klein has so far managed to pay back about half of his U.S. dollar-denominated debt since returning to Canada, but the interest rate he pays on it has moved up to 5.5 per cent recently, after dipping as low as 3.1 per cent previously.

Meanwhile, wages at his restaurant job haven’t increased at nearly the same rate as everything else, and the weaker Canadian dollar relative to the greenback is adding to the crunch.

“I feel less free in a way,” Klein said. “A lot of the cheap ways of living and wandering about in your 20s don't really exist in the same way.”

Consumer inflation hit 8.1 per cent year over year in June, Statistics Canada said, its largest yearly change since 1983. The acceleration from a 7.7 per cent increase in May was mostly due to higher gas prices, although seven of eight major components rose by at least three per cent. Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index rose 6.5 per cent year over year in June, following a 6.3 per cent increase in May.

Rent relief in Montreal

Spencer Hunt wasn’t exactly forced out of Toronto by the high cost of living, but he and his girlfriend will be getting much more bang for their buck when they relocate to Montreal next month after she got accepted as a master's student at McGill University.

After dual work-from-home jobs became too much for their $1,450-a month, one-bedroom basement apartment in Bloordale, the pair moved to a nearby two-bedroom in early 2021 that cost $1,880 a month.

Hunt can keep doing his job providing technical support for medical imaging software in Montreal, where the pair have found a larger place for less than $1,800 in the Plateau-Mont Royal neighbourhood.

“It’s a bigger apartment than this one is; it's two bedrooms as well, but there's a living room — we don’t have that here — in a nicer location, relatively closer to downtown than where we live now,” he said.

Hunt does most of the grocery shopping and has noticed the spike in prices, and also says it is harder to justify going out to socialize with friends these days.

“It's kind of hard because after the pandemic you want to go out to restaurants, get takeout, see people and hang out with them again, and it all adds up,” he said.

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2022-07-31 17:20:00Z
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Air Transat passenger out $5000 after being 'utterly abandoned' and denied flight for fainting - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

An Air Transat passenger said he was forced to pay $5,000 out of pocket because he was “utterly abandoned” by the airline after he fainted and was denied taking a flight home to Toronto.

Shaun Mehta said he began to feel unwell as he was boarding a flight in Barcelona set for Toronto on July 10.

“The final passengers were still being boarded when I was overcome by dizziness and nausea. I passed out in my seat,” Mehta told CTV News Toronto.

Flight attendants, along with a passenger who was a doctor, surrounded Mehta and gave him oxygen, which he said significantly helped.

Spanish paramedics then came onboard and tested his vitals, which Mehta said he passed and was cleared to fly. He speculated the episode was related to vertigo from leaving the cruise ship he spent his vacation on.

In Mehta’s medical report, obtained by CTV News Toronto, paramedics checked off “normal” for his breathing and “voluntary discharge” in their conclusion, describing his symptoms as “moderate.”

“I just wanted to get home at that point,” he said.

But then, a flight attendant approached him and said the pilot was uncomfortable flying with him onboard.

“They said if you don't leave we will escort you off the plane,” Mehta said.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Air Transat said that information regarding the passenger’s symptoms was transferred to MedAire, a company that specializes in medical and travel support.

“After analyzing the situation and discussing with the captain, MedAire deemed the passenger should indeed not travel. The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and took over the patient’s care,” Air Transat spokesperson Marie-Christine Pouliot said.

“Passengers who are denied boarding for medical reasons must contact their travel insurance provider to cover any accommodation or travel costs.”

While Mehta was eager to get home, he said the Air Transat crew members assured him that he would be taken care of. He kissed his 12-year-old daughter goodbye, left her with her grandparents, and exited the plane with his wife.

“I expected an Air Transat representative to find us another flight, re-assess me medically, and take care of our food and accommodations needs, if necessary,” Mehta said.

“None of this happened.”

Instead, they were escorted to a taxi stand by an airport employee, which confused Mehta and his wife. They had nowhere to go.

After expressing this to the escort, they were taken to a kiosk with various airline logos. There, they were handed a card with an Air Transat phone number for their headquarters in Montreal.

“It’s Sunday morning in Montreal, no one is going to answer,” he said. As they expected, they were unable to reach anyone.

“We had been utterly abandoned by Air Transat,” he said.

Desperate after hours of hitting a wall, they said they called their travel agent. The next Air Transat flight to Toronto wasn’t for days, so she booked them on an Air Canada flight the following morning along with a hotel for the night. The total cost of the last-minute purchases was $5,000.

Since then, Mehta says he has received no communication from the airline.

According to the Air Transat website, if a passenger is denied boarding for reasons within the airline’s control, including those for safety purposes, Air Transat will offer food and drink, access to means of communication, hotel accommodation and ground transportation free of charge.

“The moment I was removed from the flight, I didn’t seem to exist or matter to Air Transat. I have never felt so insignificant.”  

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2022-07-30 14:41:52Z
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Tim Hortons reaches proposed settlement in class action suit - CTV News

TORONTO -

Tim Hortons has reached a proposed settlement in multiple class action lawsuits alleging the restaurant's mobile app violated customer privacy, which would see the restaurant offer a free coffee and doughnut to affected users.

The settlement, negotiated with the legal teams involved in the lawsuits, still requires court approval.

The coffee and doughnut chain would also permanently delete any geolocation information it may have collected between April 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, and direct third-party service providers to do the same.

"We think that it's a favourable settlement because it offers compensation that has a real value," said Joey Zukran, a lawyer with the Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocat Inc., which filed the class action in Quebec.

"Privacy cases across Canada are never guaranteed a win," he said. "Here we have some form of guarantee, some form of recovery ... as opposed to uncertainty that could last."

It's unclear how many customers used the app during the 18-month period ending Sept. 30, 2020, and would be eligible to receive a free hot beverage and baked good.

Restaurant Brands International Inc., the parent company of Tim Hortons, said in an investor presentation in May that it had four million active users during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

"I think people who receive this will think it's paltry, but class action settlements are often paltry for the end consumer," said David Fraser, a privacy lawyer with McInnes Cooper in Halifax.

While the individual compensation may not seem like much, he said given the number of people potentially involved "it may be reasonable in aggregate."

Still, others may feel it's not high enough to "act as a disincentive to further mischief," Fraser said.

"Any time you settle, there's going to be a compromise," he said, adding that the case "reflects how weird privacy harms are."

"If you used that app and Tim Hortons collected your location information without your adequate, informed consent but nothing has happened with that information, you actually haven't suffered what would be considered a tangible harm," Fraser said.

"You're trying to compensate for the feeling of ickiness, the creepiness somebody might feel knowing that their information was collected without their knowledge or consent."

The proposed settlement comes after an investigation by federal and provincial privacy watchdogs found the mobile ordering app violated the law by collecting vast amounts of location information from customers.

In a report released last month, privacy commissioners said people who downloaded the Tim Hortons app had their movements tracked and recorded every few minutes -- even when the app was not open on their phones.

The investigation was launched after National Post reporter James McLeod obtained data showing the app on his phone had tracked his location more than 2,700 times in less than five months.

In a statement, Tim Hortons said it's pleased to have reached a proposed settlement in the four class action lawsuits filed in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario.

"All parties agree this is a fair settlement and we look forward to the Superior Court of Quebec's decision on the proposal," the company said in a statement.

"We are confident that pending the Quebec court's approval of the settlement, the courts in British Columbia and Ontario will recognize the settlement."

The company said the allegations raised in the class actions were not proven in court and the settlement is not an admission of any wrongdoing.

Tim Hortons said it would be emailing customers Friday to inform them of the proposed settlement.

Tim Hortons said the retail value of a free hot beverage is $6.19 while the value of a baked good is $2.39, plus taxes, according to court documents.

Customers would be provided with a credit for the items with a coupon or through the Tim Hortons app, documents said.

Details on the distribution of the free hot beverage and baked good would be provided if the court approves the settlement, Tim Hortons said.

A hearing has been scheduled in a Quebec court on Sept. 6 to consider the proposed settlement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2022.

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2022-07-29 18:47:49Z
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US economy shrinks for a second quarter, fuelling recession fears - Al Jazeera English

The fall in US GDP comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, as Chair Jerome Powell says growth needs to slow.

By Reade PickertBloomberg

Published On 28 Jul 202228 Jul 2022

The US economy shrank for a second straight quarter, raising chances of a recession, as decades-high inflation undercut consumer spending and Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes stymied business investment and housing demand.

Gross domestic product fell at a 0.9% annualized rate after a 1.6% decline in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department’s preliminary estimate showed Thursday. Personal consumption, the biggest part of the economy, rose at a 1% pace, a deceleration from the prior period.

The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.4% advance in GDP and a 1.2% rise in consumer spending.

Two-year Treasury yields tumbled after the report reduced chances of further aggressive Fed rate increases, while US stock futures remained lower and the dollar erased gains.

The details of the report showed decreases in business and government spending and residential investment. Inventories also weighed on GDP.

A key gauge of underlying demand that strips out the trade and inventories components — inflation-adjusted final sales to domestic purchasers — fell at a 0.3% pace in the second quarter compared with a 2% gain in the prior period.

The report illustrates how inflation has undercut Americans’ purchasing power and tighter Federal Reserve monetary policy has weakened interest rate-sensitive sectors such as housing. That weakness is likely to throw fuel on an already heated debate about if or when the US enters a recession.

While the common rule of thumb for recessions is two consecutive quarterly declines in GDP, the official determination of ends and beginnings of business cycles is made by a group of academics at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Profit Forecasts

Retailers like Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. have slashed their profit forecasts, and a slew of tech companies, including Shopify Inc., have announced plans in recent weeks to cut workers. Others, like Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are slowing hiring.

Broader weakness in a labor market that’s shown only limited signs of cooling would remove a key source of support for the economy and help shape the course of monetary policy later this year.

“We think it’s necessary to have growth slow down,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference Wednesday after another 75 basis-point hike in interest rates. “We actually think we need a period of growth below potential in order to create some slack so that the supply side can catch up. We also think that there will be, in all likelihood, some softening in labor market conditions.”

–With assistance from Kristy Scheuble and Olivia Rockeman.

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2022-07-28 13:30:16Z
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Jim Cramer reacts to the Fed's move to raise interest rates by 75 basis points - CNBC Television

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2022-07-28 14:44:21Z
1508833377

Rogers reports higher profits but braces for hit from massive network outage - The Globe and Mail

Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T reported higher revenue and profits in its most recent quarter, helped by a rebound in wireless roaming, as it braces for the impact of a massive network outage on its third-quarter results.

The Toronto-based wireless giant also announced it has reached a deal with Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T to extend the deadline for their contested $26-billion merger until the end of the year, as they await regulatory approvals.

The telecom said it will spend $150-million in the third quarter to compensate customers for the outage, which left millions without wireless, internet and home phone service, and paralyzed the Interac debit system. The company will credit its customers for five days worth of services.

The service disruption outraged consumers and is expected to weigh on the company’s subscriber figures in the third quarter.

“Since the outage of July 8, we did see an impact on our subscriber results, but we’re encouraged by the patience our customers have shown,” Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri told analysts during a conference call Wednesday to discuss the company’s second-quarter results.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi said in a research note the telecom expects to see elevated churn – which represents the monthly rate of customer turnover – as a result of the outage.

Mr. Staffieri has promised to make changes and investments to improve the resiliency of the company’s networks.

Rogers had $3.87-billion in revenue for the three months ended June 30, up 8 per cent compared with $3.58-billion during the same period last year. The company said it benefited from a rebound in travel, which allowed it to collect roaming fees when customers used their devices abroad, as well as higher levels of immigration and improved performance by its team.

The telecom reported $409-million in quarterly profits, up 35 per cent from a year ago when it had $302-million in profits. The earnings amounted to 76 cents a share, up from 60 cents a share.

Rogers added 122,000 net new postpaid wireless subscribers during its most recent quarter, up from 60,000 during the same period last year. (Postpaid subscribers are billed at the end of the month for the services they used, versus prepaid customers, who pay upfront for wireless services.)

RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said the telecom benefited from strong performance in its wireless division, which boosted its revenue by 7 per cent, as well as improvement in its cable business, which increased its revenue by 2 per cent.

The Competition Bureau is attempting to block the merger of Canada’s two largest cable companies, arguing it would result in higher prices and poorer service, particularly for wireless customers.

Rogers has struck a deal to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, Canada’s fourth largest wireless carrier, to Quebecor Inc. QBR-B-T for $2.85-billion in an attempt to address those concerns.

Rogers said in a statement on Wednesday it is continuing to work with Quebecor to produce definitive transaction documents for the Freedom Mobile sale and will provide an update “in due course.”

“It’s a large deal. It’s close to $3-billion and contains quite a few complexities as we work through that,” Mr. Staffieri said, adding that Rogers and Quebecor each remain committed to the sale.

Rogers, Shaw and the Shaw family trust have agreed to extend the merger deadline to Dec. 31, with the option to extend further until Jan. 31, provided Rogers has the financing to complete the deal.

In March, Rogers tapped credit markets to replace a $19-billion bridge loan to finance the deal. The telecom raised US$7.05-billion by selling five bond issues south of the border, and $4.25-billion with four Canadian bond issues. The bonds contain a clause that requires them to be redeemed at 101 per cent of their value if the deal does not close by Dec. 31.

Rogers chief financial officer Glenn Brandt said if the merger is delayed beyond that date, the telecom has a number of options to finance the takeover, including seeking bank funding, extending the bonds’ redemption date or raising money through the capital markets.

However, Mr. Brandt said Rogers is “confident that there is plenty of time between now and year end to close the transaction and to use those bonds to fund the acquisition.”

Mr. Yaghi said the deadline extension demonstrates that Shaw remains committed to the deal and “should alleviate some investor concern as closing of the deal is taking longer than initially planned.”

“The decision was also made in order to take into consideration the possibility that the acquisition might have to be dealt with in a trial at the competition tribunal,” Mr. Yaghi added.

The Competition Bureau has requested more time to review the potential sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor, saying in court documents it has not yet been provided with a final agreement between Rogers and Quebecor.

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2022-07-27 11:17:38Z
1507205268

S&P/TSX composite down as Shopify decline weighs on technology sector - CTV News

TORONTO -

North American markets ended the trading day in the red, with a double-digit decline in Shopify Inc. weighing on the technology sector of Canada's main stock exchange and U.S. stock markets sank ahead of Wednesday's scheduled interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 131.80 points at 18,972.68, driven by weakness in the technology sector after Shopify announced that it would be laying off 10 per cent of its workforce because it misjudged the growth of the e-commerce sector.

The company's share price fell by more than 15 per cent in late-morning trading but regained some of those losses to close at $40.69 per share.

"E-commerce is not performing as well as it was during pandemic lockdowns when people were forced to buy online," Pierre Cleroux, vice-president of research and chief economist for the Business Development Bank of Canada, said in an interview. "We all thought this would continue, but it did slow down. I was surprised by that."

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 228.50 points at 31,761.54. The S&P 500 index was down 45.79 points at 3,921.05, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite was down 220.10 points at 11,562.57.

Cleroux says North American markets were also reacting to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) "gloomy" economic outlook.

The IMF now sees the global economy growing 3.2 per cent in 2022, down 0.4 percentage points from April, before slowing to a 2.9 per cent GDP rate next year, a downgrade of 0.7 percentage points.

Walmart's profit warning on Monday after markets closed also gave investors jitters. The retail giant slashed its second-quarter and full-year profit outlooks, citing skyrocketing inflation impacting consumers' shopping habits.

"Walmart is a leader. When Walmart has difficulties to meet their profit target it means other companies will have difficulties as well," said Cleroux.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected to lift interest rates by 0.75 percentage points Wednesday, which Cleroux says is already baked into the markets.

It's a big week for technology earnings and Cleroux says those results will have more impact on the markets than the Fed.

"It's going to be a sign if the economy is really slowing down or not," he said.

Google parent Alphabet reported earnings that missed Wall Street estimates after the closing bell on Tuesday.

Overall, Cleroux is somewhat positive about the U.S. earnings season, however.

"Earnings will be better than what the U.S. is expecting," he said. "I think (companies) are going to meet their targets or be slightly down."

As for Canada, he says "we should perform quite well because a lot of our major companies are in the energy sector. And in the second quarter, energy prices were still very high."

The September crude contract was down US$1.72 at US$94.98 per barrel, after getting close to that US$100 per barrel mark.

"It's probably going stay between US$95 to US$100 per barrel this week," Cleroux said.

The market will expect oil demand is going to slow down as the world economy slows down, he explains, adding that he "doesn't believe the price is going to go back to $100 this summer."

The September natural gas contract was up 25 cents at US$8.83.

The August gold contract was down US$1.40 at US$1,717.70 an ounce and the September copper contract was up three cents at US$3.38 a pound.

The Canadian dollar traded for 77.62 cents US compared with 77.81 cents US on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2022.

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2022-07-26 22:01:21Z
1508376700

Rogers CEO defends outage response to MPs at committee hearing - CTV News

OTTAWA -

Telecommunications experts called for scuttling the planned Rogers Communications takeover of rival Shaw, slamming the response of Ottawa and the federal telecom regulator to the serious Rogers outage earlier this month.

The House of Commons industry committee heard testimony Monday on the outage from various experts, as well as Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, Rogers executives and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission officials.

The experts provided a number of policy recommendations, including ways to ensure competition in the industry, and called for the Rogers-Shaw transaction to be blocked.

Rogers is pursuing a $26-billion merger with Shaw, but the deal still requires approval of the Competition Bureau and Champagne's office.

The July 8 outage crippled the Rogers network and affected millions of customers across Canada, including people trying to contact emergency services.

All four experts who testified Monday criticized the CRTC's response to the outage, including its decision to not pursue a full public investigation.

Carleton University communications professor Dwayne Winseck said the CRTC is responsible for the effect of the outage on access to emergency services, adding that "perhaps it should be required to rethink its relatively permissive approach to regulating critical services."

CRTC head Ian Scott was asked during his appearance whether the telecom regulator needs any additional powers.

Scott said he couldn't think of any provisions that might have prevented the outage. "With respect to network outages and network reliability, I think this is a situation that can be addressed by the industry."

Geist criticized Scott's response.

"It was, I thought, remarkable and exceptionally discouraging to watch the chair of the CRTC come give a virtual shrug when posed with questions about the role that new regulations could play," Geist said.

John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said part of the problem with the CRTC is that it does not impose quality of service requirements.

Rogers submitted a letter to the CRTC on Friday, explaining how the outage happened and the degree to which its network was incapacitated.

Scott said the commission is in the process of reviewing the submission and determining next steps.

"Rogers said they will do better. The CRTC will make sure they do," Scott said in his testimony.

Scott said it's still to be determined whether penalties will be imposed, but cautioned that as per current legislation, penalties are meant to encourage compliance rather than be punitive.

Conservative MP Tracy Gray questioned the CRTC officials on their preparation for an outage's affect on 911 calls, given the Rogers lapse limited Canadians' ability to access emergency services.

"It's very difficult to prepare for something that's truly unprecedented," Scott said.

Rogers Communications CEO Tony Staffieri also faced questions Monday from MPs about whether a lack of competition in the telecom sector might have contributed to the massive outage, which came as the company awaits government approvals for its purchase of Shaw.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith asked Staffieri whether the concentration of customers in a single company is a challenge to network resiliency.

"We work every day in a very competitive environment and we work hard to bring the best value in money for customers," Staffieri said.

"You're saying that with a straight face?" responded Erskine-Smith.

In his opening remarks, Staffieri said the outage reflects a failure on the part of Rogers. "On that day, we failed to deliver on our promise to be Canada's most reliable network."

The CEO further outlined some of the technical causes of the outage and what the company is doing to prevent additional failures, including a plan to separate the wireless and internet networks.

MPs also directed questions to Champagne on government action in response to the outage.

New Democrat MP Brian Masse pressed Champagne about passing legislation to make the internet a public utility, saying that COVID-19 had shown the internet to be an essential service.

Without more government power to regulate the internet, Masse told the committee hearing, "we have to rely on any minister being buddy-buddy with a bunch of CEOs."

Champagne defended his meeting with the telecom CEOs, and while he did not say whether he would support legislation to make the internet a public utility, he said he was open to working across party lines and taking in the committee's recommendations.

Masse asked Staffieri if he would support a bill of rights for consumers, but the Rogers executive did not answer directly.

"We are very much focused on what we need to do to ensure the resiliency and redundancy of our networks," Staffieri said.

Champagne said on the day of the outage he contacted Staffieri to inquire about the situation but the conversation was not between a CEO and a cabinet minister. Rather, Champagne was speaking on behalf of Canadians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2022.

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2022-07-25 21:52:20Z
CAIiEHE_YCEO4kWbuTDyl_-6U_kqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow6f-ICzDjj4gDMKGZnwY

Mustard shortage could lead to higher prices and empty shelves, industry warns - CBC News

A mustard seed shortage is driving up prices and could leave some store shelves with scant supply before the new harvest hits markets this fall, industry experts say.

France, the world's biggest consumer of the popular condiment, is already facing shortages while other countries are seeing prices climb as last year's mustard seed stocks are depleted.

The problem can be traced back to the Canadian Prairies, where the majority of the world's mustard seeds are grown.

A drop in the number of acres planted last year in Saskatchewan and Alberta combined with a severe summer drought means crop yields are far lower than usual.

In Saskatchewan, for example, about 300,000 acres or roughly 120,000 hectares were seeded with mustard last year, a drop of about 25 per cent compared with the 10-year average of 400,000 acres (about 160,000 hectares), according to provincial data.

Weather a factor

Then dry, hot weather badly damaged crops.

"The heat that we got last July just absolutely devastated yields," said Stuart Smyth, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics with the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

"Mustard seed yield was only 35 per cent of the 10-year average."

Prices for the yellow spread have steadily increased since.

For example, a hundredweight of yellow mustard seeds, roughly 45 kilograms, cost more than $150 a week ago — triple the $50 price tag from last year, according to a Saskatchewan database of agricultural commodity prices.

Brown mustard seeds, used in Dijon-style mustard, cost $182.33 per hundredweight a week ago, compared with $45 last year.

Eric Giesbrecht, a chef and owner of Brassica Mustard, had no choice but to pay 400 per cent more for his supply of mustard seeds this year. (Rory Mayer/The Canadian Press)

Lack of seed availability

Yet for mustard makers, the high prices are only half the battle. Some are struggling to even find enough Canadian seeds to buy.

"I bought mustard seeds in the spring of this year from last year's harvest … and I had to almost beg my supplier to sell it to me," said Eric Giesbrecht, a chef and owner of Brassica Mustard.

"It was probably the last 2,000 pounds he had and he was worried he wouldn't have enough to fill his other orders."

The Calgary-based business owner ended up paying about 400 per cent more than usual — an astronomical cost increase he's mostly had to absorb.

"Using Canadian mustard seeds is just part of the identity of my company, so importing seeds wasn't an option," Giesbrecht said.

Some mustard makers feel the squeeze

Kraft Heinz Co., which makes Heinz Yellow Mustard and the Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon, said the shortage has only impacted the brown mustard seeds it uses in its Dijon variety.

The company said as soon as it identified a potential supply issue, it worked to find other sources of brown mustard seed in different parts of the world.

"We also worked to prioritize [products] in our Grey Poupon portfolio that we know are customer favourites to ensure we would avoid shortages of those key products," the company said in an emailed statement.

The brown mustard seeds that go into premium mustards like Dijon are currently the hardest to find, while basic varieties have manageable supply, so far. (iStock/Getty Images)

No one from Dijon mustard maker Maille Canada, a subsidiary of Unilever, was available for comment.

McCormick & Co., Inc., maker of French's mustard, said it's not experiencing shortages of mustard seeds.

The company attributed its inventory position to its "resilient global supply chain and strong sourcing capabilities."

Domestic processing can't cut the mustard 

Canadian grocers directed inquiries on mustard supply to the Retail Council of Canada.

Michelle Wasylyshen, spokesperson for the retail industry group, said Canadians should have no concerns about food availability though "there may be times when consumers will have to look for alternatives and substitutions."

LISTEN | Why Canada's mustard seed crop is facing a 'perfect storm' for shortages: 

Quebec AM6:58Canada faces “perfect storm” of mustard seed shortages

Canada is the top producer of mustard seeds in the world. But over the past two years the crop has experienced major shortages. Experts say the drought out West as well as low inventory resulted in a “perfect storm”.

"In Canada, last year's harvest for mustard was heavily impacted by drought and this affected production," she said.

"We don't manufacture a lot of mustard domestically, but rather provide the seed to other countries which then produce the actual condiment."

Indeed, the shortage has underscored how little of the mustard seed crop grown in Canada stays here to be processed into a condiment.

"It's a missed opportunity," said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

"Our process sector needs help developing the expertise and capacity."

A farmer holds a handful of mustard sees in this Aug. 24, 2015 photo. A drop in the number of acres of mustard crops planted last year in Saskatchewan and Alberta combined with a severe summer drought means yields are far lower than usual, resulting in both a shortage of seeds and higher prices for what is available. (Mike McCleary/The Associated Press)

Dijon shortage a larger issue in France

While so far Canadian stores appear to have ample supply, it may just be a matter of time before broader mustard market conditions hit retail here, he said.

"It takes a while before ingredient shortages work their way through the supply chain," Charlebois said.

"It's quite possible that we'll run short of mustard but it may happen a little bit later in Canada."

Unlike in France, where Dijon mustard is a kitchen staple almost as commonplace as salt and pepper, Canadians tend to only buy mustard once every six months or less and would likely be more amenable to substitutes, Charlebois said.

"We could actually see less supply at some point but it wouldn't be a catastrophe and it would be short lived."

Healthy fall harvest expected

Meanwhile, scientists warn climate change could lead to more frequent and severe droughts in the Prairies, a situation that could affect future crop yields.

But Smyth said drought management has improved dramatically in recent years, which will help maximize harvests.

This year so far, he said the growing season has been promising, boding well for a healthy harvest this fall.

In addition, the number of planted acres is up.

Saskatchewan farmers planted about 550,000 acres of mustard seed this year, or roughly 220,000 hectares, an increase of almost 40 per cent compared with the 10 year average, according to provincial data.

"If conditions hold here over the next four to six weeks, we should be in good shape," Smyth said.

"Definitely by the time we have our Christmas hams rolled out we'll have lots of Dijon for it."

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2022-07-25 21:25:51Z
CAIiEN8Sxc0bvx8C-UJoGnEZ4aAqFggEKg4IACoGCAowqKNmMKjdCjCT1B0

Strike averted as WestJet reaches tentative agreement with Calgary and Vancouver employee union - CBC.ca

There will be no strike at WestJet this week now that the airline has reached a tentative labour deal with the union representing hundreds of workers at the Calgary and Vancouver airports.

Both the airline and Unifor Local 531 announced the deal on Sunday evening, days before nearly 800 baggage and customer service staff could have walked off the job.

Unifor announced last week that workers had voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike as early as this Wednesday if a deal could not be reached.

Neither side disclosed specific terms of the tentative deal, which is still subject to ratification.

The union issued a release saying the agreement "brings long overdue wage increases and improvements to working conditions."

The deal, touted as the first between the two sides, will be presented to union members later this week.

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2022-07-25 01:51:00Z
CBMiYmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNiYy5jYS9uZXdzL2NhbmFkYS9jYWxnYXJ5L3dlc3RqZXQtc3RyaWtlLWF2ZXJ0ZWQtdGVudGF0aXZlLWFncmVlbWVudC11bmlmb3ItMS42NTMwODAy0gEgaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2JjLmNhL2FtcC8xLjY1MzA4MDI

Rogers CEO announces new protocols, investment in wake of major service outage - CBC News

Rogers Communications on Sunday announced new steps it will take to avoid a repeat of what happened during a nationwide service outage on July 8.

In a letter to customers, CEO Tony Staffieri outlined the company's "enhanced reliability plan" in response to the outage, which left millions in Canada without cellphone and internet service — some for days — and prompted questions and concern from the federal government and regulators.

On 911 calls, which were disrupted in many parts of the country during the outage, he said Rogers is working on a formal agreement with competitors "to switch 911 calls to each other's networks automatically — even in the event of an outage on any carrier's network."

Rogers has said on its website that customers can call 911 without a SIM card at any time, but it's unclear if that would have worked during the outage.

On the wireless and internet front, Staffieri pledged the company will "physically" separate those services to create an "always on" network so customer won't experiences outages for both at the same time — something that happened to many on July 8. 

WATCH | Outage shows need for telecom Plan B, analysts say: 

Rogers outage shows need for Plan B when wireless, internet services fail, analysts say

13 days ago

Duration 45:48

Monday, July 11 - The Canadian economy, and everyday life, is tethered to our communications networks, and when they go down, like Rogers did for much of the day Friday, there is no universal Plan B to keep widely-used – and vital — services online.We'll talk about the need for a backup plan.

Staffieri also said the company will invest $10 billion over the next three years on such things as oversight, testing and artificial intelligence.

"I know that it is only through these actions that we can begin to restore your confidence in Rogers and earn back your trust," Staffieri said.

The letter to customers comes two days after a letter Rogers sent to Canada's broadcasting regulator was released detailing the cause and immediate aftermath of the service outage.

Rogers told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that coding from an update to its network deleted a routing filter that "allowed for all possible routes to the internet to pass through the routers," which flooded and overwhelmed the core network, causing it to stop processing internet traffic altogether.

The letter met a deadline by the CRTC for Rogers to answer questions about the outage, but it has many redactions where Rogers is believed to have offered more specific details.

On Monday, officials from Rogers and a slew of other stakeholders are set to appear at a parliamentary committee in Ottawa to further explain the cause of the outage and to outline the steps they are taking to make sure it won't happen again.

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2022-07-24 21:55:44Z
1505270439

Elon Musk’s alleged affair with Google co-founder’s wife led to divorce, report says - Yahoo Canada

Elon Musk reportedly engaged in a brief affair with the wife of his longtime friend Sergey Brin, prompting the Google co-founder to file for divorce from entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan earlier this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The couple cited “irreconcilable differences” in a filing in the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County in January. The filing says the couple separated on 15 December, 2021.

Mr Brin and Ms Shanahan were married in 2018.

The couple’s divorce marks a significant development in the life of one of the world’s wealthiest men, who continues to hold a controlling stake in Google after stepping away from the company’s daily operations in 2019.

The Tesla CEO is the world’s wealthiest person with an estimated fortune of $220bn. Mr Brin ranks as the world’s seventh wealthiest with $107bn, according to Forbes’ rankings.

Court filings do not indicate which assets Mr Brin and Ms Shanahan jointly own or how they will be divided, the details of which “are to be determined.”

“All issues as to the property rights or obligations of the parties will be determined by confidential binding arbitration in accordance with a written agreement between the parties,” according to court filings.

The Independent has requested comment from attorneys for Mr Brin and Ms Shanahan as well as a representative for Mr Musk.

The Wall Street Journal’s report follows several months of public scrutiny into Mr Musk’s personal life as the Tesla CEO jockeyed for control of the social media company Twitter before attempting to pull out of the deal, while his electric vehicle company faces a heightened federal inquiry into its autopilot system, which has been involved in at least 16 crashes that resulted in 15 injuries and one death.

He has denied allegations that he exposed himself to a flight attendant at his aerospace company SpaceX, and Business Insider reported that he had two children in 2021 with an executive at another company he co-founded, Neuralink.

One of his 10 children also has publicly disavowed him. His 18-year-old transgender daughter legally changed her name to disassociate from Mr Musk, according to legal filings that were reported last month.

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2022-07-24 16:43:13Z
1512384451

Several LRT trains taken off tracks after wheel hub assembly fails - CBC.ca

All Confederation Line trains that have traveled more than 175,000 kilometres have been taken off the tracks after an inspection found a "failure" in one vehicle's wheel hub assembly.

In a Saturday evening memo to Ottawa city council, transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said the vehicles were removed from service "for additional inspections out of an abundance of caution."

The problem was found after an operator reported vibrations on their train, Amilcar said. 

In her memo, Amilcar said train manufacturer Alstom had already indicated the failure affected the train's axle and bearing — but in a different way than the issue that caused an out-of-service train to derail near Tunney's Pasture station in August 2021.

In that incident, the wheel broke off the axle due to a problem with the bearing, the device installed at each end of the axle that helps the wheel spin without resistance.

Amilcar said both Alstom and Rideau Transit Maintenance (RTM) were conducting "in-depth testing" to figure out what caused the wheel hub assembly to fail.

They have both confirmed "verbally and by letter that all trains in operation" on the Confederation Line are safe, she said.

Train service continues

There are currently 10 trains running on the Confederation Line, Amilcar said, making stops roughly every five to six minutes.

The trains will be returned to the line once they've been inspected and deemed safe, according to her memo.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has also been notified, Amilcar added. OC Transpo and RTM are expected to provide another update on Tuesday.

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2022-07-23 23:19:17Z
1511833339

Rogers unable to switch customers to Bell, Telus, despite competing carrier offers - CTV News

TORONTO -

Rogers Communications Inc. was unable to switch customers to competing carriers during the unprecedented service outage earlier this month despite offers of assistance from Bell and Telus, the company said in a document released late Friday.

The telecom giant was also unable to shut down its radio access network, which would have automatically connected customers to another carrier for 911 calls, Rogers said in a submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The fresh details offer a glimpse into the multiple options considered by Rogers during the blanket outage that knocked out mobile, landline and internet service to millions of customers across Canada on July 8.

It also reveals how the sweeping outage across its network limited its ability to respond with interim solutions while it restored service.

As a result, Rogers was unable to route most 911 calls or deliver four emergency alerts during the service disruption.

Despite competitors offering assistance during the outage, the company said it was unable to switch customers to a rival carrier.

It said doing so would have required access to parts of its system that were down during the outage.

Competing networks, Rogers said in its submissions, would also not have been able to handle the extra sudden volume of wireless customers, which the company pegged at more than 10 million.

The related voice and data traffic surge could have impeded operations on the other carriers' networks, it said.

Meanwhile, Rogers considered shutting down its radio access network during the outage, which would have automatically connected customers to another carrier for 911 calls.

But once again, the company said the outage that took down its core system made such a shutdown impossible.

Moreover, turning off the radio access network would have prolonged the outage because restoring it once its network was fixed would have taken several hours, Rogers said.

"While considered many times during the day, shutting down the (radio access network) was simply not a solution," Rogers said in its submission to the CRTC.

"The best and fastest way to restore 911 was to restore the network itself."

As a result, Rogers said its radio access network remained in service, preventing many customer phones from automatically attempting to connect elsewhere.

Mobile customers always have the option to remove the SIM card from their device and to then place a 911 call. The handset will automatically connect to the strongest signal for emergency calls, Rogers said.

Although the number of failed 911 calls is unknown, the company said it was able to route "thousands" during its network's intermittent service. Some Rogers customers were able to place emergency calls using the Bell or Telus networks.

Much of the specific information Rogers submitted to the CRTC was redacted from the document for security and competitive purposes.

Rogers also said four emergency alerts, all issued in Saskatchewan, did not reach customers during the outage.

It said one alert from the RCMP was related to a dangerous person while three were tornado warnings issued by Environment Canada.

Rogers, Bell and Telus are currently discussing solutions for potential future outages, which are expected to be included in a report to Ottawa this fall.

Rogers has come under intense scrutiny from both customers and the Canadian government following the ordeal, which also affected businesses and the Interac debit system.

Chief Executive Tony Staffieri has pledged to improve the resiliency of the company's mobile and internet network.

Company representatives are scheduled to appear before the House of Commons industry committee on Monday to further discuss the outage.

The committee held an emergency meeting on July 15 and voted unanimously to open an investigation into the outage.

The committee will seek answers about the cause of the outage, its overall effect, and best practices to avoid similar situations in the future and better communicate with the public during such emergencies.

Following the outage, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne directed Canada's major telecom companies to reach agreements on assisting each other during outages and a communication protocol to better inform Canadians during emergencies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2022

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2022-07-23 20:43:51Z
1505270439

SHOCKER! Diess Out At Volkswagen - CleanTechnica

Volkswagen Group in a blandly worded press release on July 22 announced that Herbert Diess, who has been the CEO of the Group since 2015, will step down and leave the company on September 1. He will be succeeded by Oliver Blume, the current CEO of Porsche AG.

Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of the Supervisory Board, gave Diess a glowing testimonial while pushing him overboard. “During his tenure as chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand and as Chairman of the Group Board of Management, Herbert Diess played a key role in advancing the transformation of the company. The Group and its brands are viable for the future; its innovative capabilities and earning power are strengthened. Mr. Diess impressively demonstrated the speed at which and consistency with which he was able to carry out far-reaching transformation processes. Not only did he steer the company through extremely turbulent waters, but he also implemented a fundamentally new strategy.”

Diess was hired to pull Volkswagen’s chestnuts out of the fire after it got caught red handed rigging its diesel-powered cars to evade emissions regulations, and he did an admirable job. But sources with knowledge of the matter tell Reuters the Porsche and Piech families, who own over half the voting rights and a 31.4% equity stake in Volkswagen, pressed for a change at the top. “Diess was incorrigible. He significantly changed Volkswagen for the better. But his communication was miserable,” one source who asked not to be identified told Reuters.

Blume will take over from September 1 and will continue in his position as CEO of Porsche AG as that company moves forward with a planned IPO later this year. Blume has held numerous roles within Volkswagen Group, starting as a trainee at Audi in 1994, where he rose to head of production. He also worked at SEAT and Volkswagen before moving to Porsche. He became chairman of the Board of Management at Porsche in 2015 and a member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management since 2018.

“Oliver Blume has proven his operational and strategic skills in various positions within the Group and in several brands and has managed Porsche AG from a financial, technological and cultural standpoint with great success for seven years running. From the Supervisory Board’s point of view, he is now the right person to lead the Group and to further enhance its customer focus and the positioning of its brands and products,” says Pötsch.

“Oliver Blume, together with the entire Board of Management, will continue to press ahead with the transformation of the company started by Diess with a leadership culture that makes teamwork a top priority,” the press release said.

Not everyone is sure this is a wise move by Volkswagen. Analyst Daniel Roeska of Bernstein Research tells Reuters leading both companies could “make a bad governance situation worse. We do not think investors will like the CEO-dilution … especially if the IPO was supposed to create greater independence from the Volkswagen Group.”

What Went Wrong?

While Diess was taking an investor friendly approach, cutting costs and promoting electrification, Reuters says the instability created by his leadership style weighed on the company’s market value, which has been on a downward spiral since early 2021. (It’s entirely possible that the global pandemic may have had a hand in that as well.)

Daniela Cavallo, Chairperson of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG, had warned that support for the extension of Diess’ contract would depend on whether he could keep Volkswagen at the forefront of Europe’s car industry. Joerg Hofmann, president of Germany’s most powerful union, IG Metall, and deputy chairman of Volkswagen’s supervisory board, said, “The dynamics of change in the automotive industry are enormous. The decisions taken today will allow us to keep up the pace and exploit the lead we have carved out.”

Diess was clearly not perceived as a friend of the workers who assemble all the cars for Volkswagen Group. Also, the Porsche and Piech families can’t have been happy to see the value of their holdings decline, even if Diess ultimately had little control over computer chip and supply chain issues.

In Europe, Volkswagen is ahead on electric vehicle (EV) sales, with roughly 25% market share compared with Tesla’s 13%, but with Giga Berlin starting to ramp up production, some within the company are nervous that the company won’t be able to continue leading in market share under Diess.

Reuters also says Diess ran into trouble with Cariad, the software unit created on his watch. It has consistently exceeded its its budget and is reportedly years behind with its goal to launch a new unified software platform that would be incorporated into most of the vehicles produced by Volkswagen Group.

But what is left unsaid is that Diess has always been looked upon as an outsider at Volkswagen, someone who didn’t come up through the ranks at Volkswagen. Clearly, there are people like Blume and Ralf Brandstätter who are regarded as “company men” and who may have been a little miffed when Diess was brought in and installed over them.

What’s Next For Diess?

Courtesy of Volkswagen AG

Diess seemingly did not see this coming. Just a week ago, he posted on LinkedIn, “After a really stressful first half of 2022, many of us are looking forward to a well deserved summer break.” It looks now as though Diess’ summer break will be considerably longer than he expected.

So, where does Herbert Diess go from here? Clearly, he is a person with enormous energy and great vision. He may have provided the spark that led to the creation of CATL when we was in charge of purchasing at BMW. There will probably be any number of companies who would like to bring him onboard to kickstart their own electric vehicle transformation. Stellantis or Renault Group are two that come to mind.

There is another intriguing possibility. Many people have suggested that Tesla is now ready for an experienced business manager to take over the reins from the Mercurial Mister Musk. That would free Elon to pursue other interests, like building colonies on Mars or being the final arbiter of what everyone in the world can or cannot say online. We don’t know if any of that will happen, but if someone told us Diess was going to take over the reins at Tesla, it’s quite possible a cheer would be heard in some corners of the CleanTechnica executive dining room. When we know more, you’ll know more.

 

Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.

 

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2022-07-23 08:01:10Z
1510745752

What every Canadian investor needs to know today - The Globe and Mail

Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.

Equities

Canada’s main stock index rose at Friday’s opening bell, marking the sixth straight session of gains, in the wake of a better-than-forecast reading on retail sales. On Wall Street, indexes were mixed at the start of trading with the tech-heavy Nasdaq lower after disappointing results took a toll on Snap Inc. shares.

At 9:31 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 58.51 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 19,121.36. The TSX has posted gains in the five previous sessions.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.02 points, or 0.41 per cent, at the open to 32,167.92.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.52 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 3,998.43, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 34.24 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 12,025.37 at the opening bell.

All three U.S. indexes are on track for weekly gains.

Early Friday, shares of Snap Inc. sank 35 per cent in early trading after the company’s latest quarterly results disappointed investors. Revenue for the second quarter ended June 30 was US$1.11-billion, up 13 per cent from the year-earlier quarter. However, the figure also fell short of the US$1.14-billion analysts had been expecting. The company also said it planned to slow hiring.

“The Snap results came as a warning for other Big Tech names that rely on ad revenue,” Stephen Innes, managing partner with SPI Asset Management, said in a note.

“Therefore, FAANG stocks, which recovered to an almost two-month high yesterday, may not extend gains to the weekly close as the latest Snap results could reverse appetite for at least a couple of them, including Google and Meta before the closing bell.”

Meanwhile, Twitter Inc. reported a decline in quarter revenue citing industry headwinds due to the macroenvironment and uncertainty related to Elon Musk’s takeover bid. The two sides are now facing off in court after Mr. Musk pulled out of the deal. The social media company reported second-quarter revenue of US$1.18-billion, compared with US$1.19-billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting US$1.32-billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Twitter shares were trading up slightly just after the opening bell.

In Canada, investors got a better-than-forecast reading on retail sales. Statistics Canada says sales rose 2.2 per cent in May. Economists had been looking for an increase of about 1.6 per cent. Sales were up in 8 of 11 subsectors, led by increased sales at gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers. Sales rose in every province.

“The advance estimate for June suggested a slowdown in sales to 0.3 per cent, which would represent a decline in volume terms,” CIBC economist Katherine Judge said. “Indeed, with consumption to shifting towards services, while inflation erodes consumer purchasing power, demand for discretionary goods will be under more pressure ahead.”

However, the agency also said it expects to see sales slow in June, with an early estimate indicating growth of 0.3 per cent for the month.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished 0.40-per-cent higher despite seeing losses early in the session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.17 per cent.

Commodities

Crude prices struggled in a choppy session with demand concerns coming up against continued worries over tight supply.

The day range on Brent is US$103.20 to US$105.72. The range on West Texas Intermediate is US$95.65 to US$97.95. Both benchmarks feel about 3 per cent on Thursday.

“Global recession fears and the resumption of Russian gas flows to Europe seem to have been the catalyst [for the previous session’s losses], although I am sure that trading volatility recently is reducing liquidity as well, exacerbating movers,” OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley said.

SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes also noted that traders are now looking ahead to next week’s rate decision from the Federal Reserve as recession fears cloud the outlook for demand.

“While 75 [basis-point rate hike] is in the cards, guidance will be important and any softening in the rate hike outlook would be great for global growth,” he said.

In other commodities, gold prices edged lower amid a stronger U.S. dollar and continued rate hikes by global central banks.

Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$1,715.93 per ounce by early Friday morning. Prices dropped to their lowest level in more than a year at US$1,680.25 on Thursday before ending up 1.3 per cent. Gold has gained 0.5 per cent so far this week, according to Reuters.

U.S. gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to US$1,717.70 per ounce.

Currencies

The Canadian dollar was little changed while its U.S. counterpart advanced against a group of world currencies.

The day range on the loonie is 77.44 US cents to 77.74 US cents. The dollar was closer to the top end of that spread in the predawn period. The Canadian dollar is up more than 1 per cent against the greenback so far this week.

“The risk mood and broader USD tone is likely to set the tone for the CAD to a large extent on the session but the weekly gain in the CAD looks impressive,” Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist with Scotiabank, said.

On world markets, U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against six major peers, was last up 0.52 per cent to 107.17, following a 0.34-per-cent decline during the previous session. The index is off about 0.79 per cent for the week so far and looks headed to its first losing week in four, according to figures from Reuters.

The euro was down 0.8 per cent at US$1.0152, falling further from Thursday’s peak of US$1.0279 following the ECB first rate hike in 11 years.

Britain’s pound slipped 0.4 per cent to US$1.1955, trimming its gain for the week to 0.72 per cent, Reuters reports.

In bonds, the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note was lower at 2.811 per cent.

More company news

Calgary-based Bonterra Energy Corp. says George Fink will be retiring as the company’s president and CEO effective Sept. 6. Mr. Fink will remain on Bonterra’s board. Patrick Oliver will be succeeding Mr. Fink in the post and will be joining the board.

American Express Co posted a 14-per-cent fall in quarterly profit on Friday as higher costs and an increase in reserves for potentially sour loans overshadowed record cardholder spending. Net income fell to $1.96-billion, or $2.57 per share, in the three months ended June 30, from $2.28-billion, or $2.8 per share, a year earlier. But adjusted card member spending surged by 30 per cent as customers, undeterred by decades-high inflation, spent heavily on travel and entertainment.

Verizon Communications Inc cut its annual adjusted profit forecast after adding fewer-than-expected monthly bill-paying phone subscribers in the second quarter, a sign that red-hot inflation has begun impacting its business. The U.S. wireless carrier added 12,000 net phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill in the quarter compared with FactSet estimates of 150,800 additions. In the first quarter, Verizon had lost about 36,000 subscribers. The company now expects 2022 adjusted earnings per share in the range of US$5.10 and US$5.25 per share, lower than the prior outlook of US$5.40 to US$5.55.

Economic news

Euro area manufacturing, services and composite PMIs. UK releases consumer confidence, retail sales and PMIs.

(830 am ET) Canada retail sales for May.

(945 am ET) U.S. S&P global PMIs for July.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press

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2022-07-22 09:37:06Z
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Gas prices in Ontario continue to drop, down 6 cents by Saturday - CityNews Toronto

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1. Gas prices in Ontario continue to drop, down 6 cents by Saturday  CityNews Toronto
2. GTA gas prices: Analyst says drivers should wait to fill up until Saturday  CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
3. Here's when gas prices will drop another six cents per litre in Ottawa  CTV News Ottawa
4. Hold off getting gas in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Halton Hills until Saturday | inHalton  insauga.com
5. View Full coverage on Google News

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2022-07-22 12:38:44Z
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