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B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu and her bid to buy up to 25 Hudson’s Bay leases was due to come under further scrutiny in court Tuesday -- but the battle was waylaid when she showed up with no lawyer or materials to aid in making her case. Judge Peter Osborne adjourned the hearing “for a short period of time,” telling Liu “I not only urge but recommend in the strongest terms” that she hire a lawyer to represent her and her plans to buy the leases. “There are significant concerns being expressed about those plans, so it is important for me to hear from you fully about what those plans are,” he said.
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chair Erica Williams is stepping down after Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins asked her to resign. Her last day will be July 22, according to an email she sent to PCAOB staff. “Today I accepted Erica Williams’ offer to resign as chair and a board member of the PCAOB and thanked her for her service,” Atkins said. “We look forward to advancing our oversight responsibilities of the PCAOB as it continues its important work.” PCAOB leadership was revamped by the past two presidential administrations, and the watchdog has been bracing for another shake-up in President Trump’s second term—even its potential elimination.
Donald Trump a annoncé mardi des investissements d’entreprises privées dans l’énergie et les infrastructures en Pennsylvanie, État industriel de l’est des États-Unis, au moment où le secteur de la tech est confronté aux besoins toujours croissants en électricité de l’intelligence artificielle (IA). En tout, plusieurs organisations vont injecter environ 92 milliards de dollars dans des projets de centres de données (36 milliards) et de sites de production d’énergie (56 milliards). Le secteur des technologies s’est jeté à corps perdu dans le développement de l’IA générative, mais craint que les besoins massifs en électricité ne puissent être satisfaits par l’infrastructure existante, en particulier aux États-Unis.
Un nouveau rapport de l’Université McGill recommande d’ajouter la sécurité publique au mandat de CBC/Radio-Canada. Il cite les incendies de forêt qui font à nouveau rage à travers le Canada comme l’une des raisons justifiant ce changement. Jessica Johnson, coautrice du rapport, affirme que la désinformation sur les incendies de forêt pourrait mettre la vie des gens en danger. Elle ajoute que d’autres pays ont modifié le mandat de leurs médias publics en réponse à la crise climatique ou à des préoccupations en matière de sécurité. Pendant la campagne électorale fédérale, les libéraux ont promis d’ajouter à la mission de CBC/Radio-Canada la transmission claire et cohérente d’informations vitales en cas d’urgence.
Cybersecurity increasingly forms the bedrock on which municipal governments and school districts build digital infrastructure and deliver critical services. With online connectivity more ubiquitous every year, elected leaders must shoulder greater responsibility to ensure the organizations they govern and oversee protect personal data and sensitive information. School boards and local government officials not only need to craft resilient, up-to-date cybersecurity policies — and make sure they’re followed — they also must stay abreast of fast-changing national, state and local regulations. And they bear responsibility for the crisis plans that guide response to any potential breach.
When the economy contracts, so, too, does corporate risk tolerance. The default response in many boardrooms is to tighten budgets, trim headcount and preserve liquidity. But history shows downturns are not just times of contraction, they are moments when strategic moves can define industry leaders for the next decade. Within today’s climate of persistent uncertainty, from inflation and geopolitical instability to tighter capital markets and shifting customer demand, boards must help management rethink their posture on risk. Instead of simply mitigating risk, boards have a mandate to reframe it: spotting where emerging vulnerabilities can be converted into levers for profitable growth. This requires a shift in mindset from protection to possibility and from survival to strategy.
The crypto industry will take a step closer to going mainstream this week as a series of industry-friendly bills progress through Congress, paving the way for digital assets to potentially be further integrated into traditional finance. The House of Representatives is set to pass a series of crypto-related bills in a week which the Republican majority has dubbed "crypto week." The most notable is a bill that would establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and is likely to advance to President Donald Trump's desk. That bill -- and another the House is considering that would define when a crypto token is a commodity -- is a huge win for the crypto industry, which has been pushing for federal legislation for years and poured money into last year's elections in order to promote pro-crypto candidates.
Le taux d’inflation des prix à la consommation s’est établi à 1,9 % en juin, en hausse par rapport à la progression de 1,7 % enregistrée en mai. Selon Statistique Canada, la croissance de l’inflation globale s’est accélérée en juin, alors que les prix de l’essence ont diminué dans une moindre mesure en juin par rapport à mai. De plus, la croissance plus marquée des prix de certains biens durables, comme les véhicules automobiles et les meubles, a exercé une pression à la hausse sur le taux d’inflation en juin. Statistique Canada a souligné que l’indice des prix à la consommation a augmenté à un rythme plus élevé dans huit provinces. Au Québec, l’inflation annuelle s’est établie à 2,2 % le mois dernier, après avoir été de 1,7 % en mai.
Rio Tinto has named iron ore boss Simon Trott as its next chief executive, opting for his experience in running the mining giant’s most profitable operations as the company seeks to strengthen its growing business. Trott, 50, will succeed Jakob Stausholm on Aug. 25, said the miner, which announced plans for a new CEO in May, surprising investors. The Australian executive has worked for Rio Tinto for more than two decades. Trott was widely viewed as a front-runner for the role after spending the past four years at the helm of Rio Tinto’s mammoth iron-ore operations in remote northwest Australia, which last year accounted for roughly 80% of company earnings. He will relocate to London from Perth, Australia, for the role.
Nvidia said it has received assurances from the Trump administration that it can sell its H20 artificial-intelligence chip in China, days after Chief Executive Jensen Huang met President Trump. The administration’s move marks a turnabout after the Commerce Department restricted sales of the chip in April, costing Nvidia billions of dollars. The news came during a visit by Huang to Beijing, where he was meeting senior officials. “I’m very happy,” he told reporters. The U.S. chip company has been on a winning streak and last week became the first company valued at more than $4 trillion. Now one of its few weak spots—difficulty selling in China owing to U.S. export restrictions—is likely to be shored up, although Nvidia still can’t sell its most-advanced chips to Chinese customers.
Recipe Unlimited Corp. says it has acquired all of Canada’s Olive Garden locations in a deal with U.S.-based Darden Restaurants Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal for the eight locations, which was announced today. Frank Hennessey, the CEO of Recipe Unlimited says he sees large growth potential for the Olive Garden brand across Canada. The deal includes a development agreement where the Vaughan, Ont.-based restaurant company will receive exclusive rights to develop and operate new Olive Garden restaurants in Canada. Recipe Unlimited says the timing of new locations will be announced as plans take shape. Recipe Unlimited has more than 1,200 restaurant locations across Canada, with a portfolio that includes Swiss Chalet, East Side Mario’s, the Pickle Barrel and more.
Google has agreed to secure as much as three gigawatts of U.S. hydropower in the world’s largest corporate clean power pact for hydroelectricity, the company said on Tuesday, as Big Tech pursues the expansion of energy-hungry data centers. The deal between Google and Brookfield Asset Management includes initial 20-year power purchase agreements, totaling $3-billion, for electricity generated from two hydropower facilities in Pennsylvania. The tech giant will also invest $25-billion in data centers across Pennsylvania and neighboring states over the next two years, Semafor reported on Tuesday.
Le président américain Donald Trump a déclaré lundi que les lettres qu’il a envoyées au premier ministre Mark Carney et à d’autres dirigeants concernant les nouveaux droits de douane constituent « des accords », tandis que M. Carney se prépare à rencontrer son cabinet mardi en réaction aux nouveaux droits de douane sur les produits canadiens annoncés la semaine dernière. Donald Trump semble perdre patience face aux efforts de son administration pour conclure des accords commerciaux avec des nations du monde entier. Le président a envoyé des lettres à ses partenaires commerciaux, dont le Canada, menaçant d’imposer des droits de douane plus élevés le 1er août.
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Investment firm Aquarian Holdings is in exclusive talks to acquire the U.S. life insurance company Brighthouse Financial according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be completed in the coming weeks, the people said, granted the talks don’t hit any last-minute hurdles. It would mark the end of a competitive process for Brighthouse, which has drawn interest from a number of other big private-equity firms. TPG, the other finalist in the process, had been angling for a structured deal involving only certain parts of the company, instead of a full purchase, according to a person familiar with the matter. It wasn’t able to reach an agreement and didn’t submit a final bid, the person said.
Cogeco Inc. says its Canadian wireless launch is underway with the first group of customers already on the service. The company says it plans to cover 12 Canadian markets in parts of Ontario and Quebec over the coming weeks. The news came as the company reported a profit attributable to owners of the corporation of $20.5 million in its quarter ended May 31, up from $19.0 million in the same quarter last year. Cogeco says its profit amounted to $2.13 per diluted share for the quarter, up from $1.97 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Revenue totalled $758.5 million, down from $777.2 million. On an adjusted basis, Cogeco says it earned $2.40 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $3.02 per diluted share a year ago.
Le président Donald Trump a déclaré mardi aux journalistes qu’il prévoyait d’imposer des droits de douane de plus de 10 % aux petits pays, notamment aux pays d’Afrique et des Caraïbes. « Nous allons probablement fixer un droit de douane unique pour tous », a expliqué Donald Trump, ajoutant qu’il pourrait s’agir d’un droit de douane légèrement supérieur à 10 % sur les marchandises provenant d’au moins 100 pays. Le secrétaire au Commerce, Howard Lutnick, a indiqué que les pays dont les marchandises seraient taxées à ces taux seraient situés en Afrique et dans les Caraïbes, des régions qui entretiennent généralement des échanges commerciaux relativement modestes avec les États-Unis et qui seraient relativement insignifiantes pour atteindre les objectifs de Donald Trump de réduction des déséquilibres commerciaux avec le reste du monde.
Apple said it will buy $500 million of rare-earth magnets from MP Materials MP, expanding its U.S. supply chain for a critical element of its devices while under pressure from the Trump administration. MP will supply Apple with magnets it produces in a Texas facility, using recycled materials processed at a site MP will build in California. Such magnets go into the iPhone component that buzzes and vibrates to provide tactile feedback, known as a haptic engine. They are also used in audio equipment and microphones inside various Apple products. For over a decade, China has had a near monopoly on rare-earth magnet production, thanks to its enormous mines and efficient manufacturers.
What leaders need to know—and do—about agentic AI. Agentic AI may redefine how businesses operate, compete and grow—faster than many leaders expect. It offers the clearest glimpse yet of what the future of work and business will look like. This is expected and exciting—new ecosystems are already emerging to support the technology and redesign tech stacks and workflows. The opportunity is enormous, and so is the disruption. So, what should leaders know and do now?
Scandinavian property companies Pandox AB and Eiendomsspar AS have agreed to buy Ireland's largest hotel group Dalata for 1.4 billion euros ($1.64 billion), the companies said on Tuesday. Dalata, which operates 56 hotels under the four-star Maldron and Clayton brands, mainly in Ireland and the United Kingdom, had rejected an initial bid from Pandox and Eiendomsspar in early June that had valued the hotel operator at 1.3 billion euros. Sweden-based Pandox, which specialises in the ownership, development and leasing of large hotels across Sweden and northern Europe, will own 91.5% of the entity taking over Dalata, while Norway-based Eiendomsspar will own 8.5%, the companies said in a statement.
Another no-show by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Donald Trump's tariff threats and rising tensions between Washington and BRICS countries all look set to overshadow this week's meeting of G20 finance chiefs in Durban, South Africa. Several key officials including Bessent skipped February's Cape Town gathering of finance ministers and central banks in the grouping, already raising questions about its ability to tackle pressing global challenges. "I think it's problematic not to have the world's largest economy represented at the table, at least at a senior political level," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council.
A year ago when the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was heating up, a veteran mergers and acquisitions adviser told me that if the Republican candidate won, many on Wall Street would eventually long “for the return of Lina Khan”. The top rainmaker was flagging his concerns that Trump’s antitrust policies would make it even harder to get deals approved than under Joe Biden’s progressive head of the Federal Trade Commission, the US competition watchdog. Twelve months on, many mergers and acquisitions bankers argue that this has turned out to be the case. They say deal approvals have become more politically charged than under Khan, who was accused by bankers and lawyers in her time in office of using M&A approval procedures to influence public policy on matters beyond preserving competition.
U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. Federal Reserve should set its benchmark interest rate at one per cent to lower government borrowing costs, allowing the administration to finance the high and rising deficits expected from his spending and tax-cut bill. Trump should be careful what he wishes for. A Fed policy rate that low is not typically a sign that the U.S. is the “hottest” country in the world for investment, as Trump has said. It is usually a crisis response to an economy in serious trouble.
Nvidia said it has received assurances from the Trump administration that it can sell its H20 artificial-intelligence chip in China, days after Chief Executive Jensen Huang met President Trump. The administration’s move marks a turnabout after the Commerce Department restricted sales of the chip in April, costing Nvidia billions of dollars. The news came during a visit by Huang to Beijing, where he was meeting senior officials. “I’m very happy,” he told reporters. Shares in Nvidia rose more than 4% in premarket trading early Tuesday. The U.S. chip company has been on a winning streak and last week became the first company valued at more than $4 trillion.
Hudson’s Bay Co. is headed back to court on Tuesday morning to fight a motion from some of its senior lenders, who are seeking to terminate a controversial deal to sell off former Bay store leases to B.C. billionaire Weihong (Ruby) Liu. In a new court filing on Sunday, Hudson’s Bay called that termination request “premature.” The lease deal is “expected to generate significant recoveries” for the company’s creditors, according to an affidavit sworn by Hudson’s Bay chief operating officer and chief financial officer Michael Culhane. The lenders are also seeking to expand the powers of a court monitor over Hudson’s Bay, accusing the failed retailer of mismanaging the wind-down of its business.
An American real estate company that owns luxury rental apartment towers in New York is trying to go public in Canada, with GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust launching a US$410-million initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. GO owns five rental towers in Manhattan along the East River, including the Copper Buildings, where the average monthly rent is US$8.05 per square foot. That amounts to US$8,050 per month for a 1,000-square-foot apartment. If GO completes the deal, it will be one of the largest real estate IPOs in Canadian history. To help win over investors, the company has lined up a cornerstone backer, Cohen & Steers Capital Management Inc., which will purchase US$90-million of additional shares, bringing the total size of the offering to US$500-million.
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