All Business stories

Putting the stocks in Birkenstocks

A 249-year-old orthopedic sandal maker is now one of the year’s top IPOs amongst a crowd of buzzy tech companies. How did that happen? 

Driving the news: Birkenstock is hitting the public market today, with the German shoemaker aiming to sell ~32 million shares for US$46 a pop, giving the company a ~$9.2 billion valuation. 

Businesses are getting worried about weight loss drugs

Diabetes-turned-weight-loss medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro—collectively known as GLP-1 drugs—may be shrinking more than just celebs’ waistlines. 

Driving the news: A growing number of companies are worried that mass adoption of the drugs, which work by suppressing people’s desire to eat and drink, will be bad for their bottom line and could lead to a general drop in consumption. 

Cordell Jacks on Canada’s looming succession wave

On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we chatted with Cordell Jacks, CEO and General Partner of The Regenerative Capital Group, to discuss the oncoming retirement wave of small-to-medium-sized business owners and how entrepreneurs can capitalize on it. 

BlackBerry cuts itself in half

BlackBerry just booted up the ol’ Bold 9700 and sent a heartfelt break-up text… to itself.  

What happened: BlackBerry announced its splitting into two separate public companies next March as it looks to stoke new investor interest and chart a clearer path forward. 

Laurentian CEO heads for the exits

Over the summer, analysts were pretty confident that major banks would be interested in buying Laurentian. But now, even the CEO doesn’t want to work there.

What happened: Laurentian Bank is bidding adieu to CEO Rania Llewellyn, the first woman to head a major Canadian bank, after just three years in the role. Eric Provost, who was formerly in charge of personal and commercial banking, will take her place, per Bloomberg.

Businesses are betting big on hard drugs

Bad business idea: Opening a meth and crack store that immediately gets shut down. 

Maybe a good business idea? Early investing in the potential decriminalization of hard drugs.

Driving the news: Safe Supply Streaming is on track to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange. But it’s not like other investment firms: It claims to be the first company designed to invest in the “third wave” of drug reform, or policies relaxing laws around hard drugs

Remote work dries up

Still working from home in your sweats? Better hang on to that gig if you want to keep the lifestyle because few new jobs will afford you the same luxury.

Driving the news: Only 9% of new job postings on LinkedIn were fully remote in August, according to a report from the company. 

Canada is all in on EV battery production

Some folks collect baseball cards or stamps. Canada is collecting EV battery plants.

What happened: Swedish electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Northvolt — which has supply deals with BMW and Volkswagen — has secured the largest private investment in Quebec history to build a $7 billion factory near Montréal. 

Why is Costco selling gold bars?

A 10-kg bucket of peanut butter. A box of 204 frozen croissants. A 24-karat gold bar. What do all of these items have in common? You can buy them all at Costco. 

Driving the news: Costco is now selling one-ounce gold bars online, and they’re getting picked up at a speed usually reserved for Taylor Swift tickets and new Air Jordans. On a recent earnings call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said new bars typically sell out in hours.

The FTC challenges Amazon

The FTC surely must be inspired by the story of David and Goliath, because the US regulatory body won’t stop picking fights with tech giants. 

What happened: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alongside 17 states, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, claiming the company is a monopoly that illegally crushes its competition, keeps prices inflated for consumers, and traps third-party sellers.