On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Yannick Bigourdan to talk about what it’s like running one of Toronto’s top restaurants as the economy slows down.

As England and Spain prepare to square off in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final tomorrow, they’ll top off a tournament that has continued to break viewership and attendance records.

Driving the news: This week's semifinal between England and Australia broke broadcast and streaming records in Australia, with 11.15 million viewers tuning in. On the whole, the tournament is projected to reach two billion viewers, nearly double that of the 2019 edition.

Are you a lonely heart? Do you have some serious cash burning a hole in your pocket but aren’t famous enough to get on Raya? Well, now you’re in luck.

Driving the news: Tinder is launching a premium membership tier with a potential price tag of US$500 per month, possibly including features like a “personalized concierge service.”

We’ve all been there: You open up a giant box from Amazon to find the tiniest of products inside and wonder when they’re going to figure out how to ship orders in a box that makes sense. Well, they’ve heard your complaints and, rest assured, they’re on it. 

Driving the news: Amazon is ditching its (sometimes comically oversized) boxes and is shipping more stuff to people in the manufacturer’s packaging.

In the past month, Canadians have broken Guinness World Records for the deepest underwater model photoshoot (6.4 metres), most pancakes served in eight hours (17,182 flapjacks) and, most impressively, the largest dinosaur costume dance party (1,187 costumed dinos). 

These achievements have led us to wonder, “How on Earth does Guinness make money?” 

Good luck, indeed. As we enter the final day of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Toronto, we wish luck to anyone trying to snag a ticket… but also caution you not to get your hopes up.  

Catch-up: For the few of you reading who don’t already have your calendar circled, Swift is coming to Toronto for six shows at Roger’s Centre at the end of November 2024. 

Driving the news: An estimated 31 million people (about ¾ of Canada’s population, to give you some perspective) registered on Ticketmaster to receive a presale waitlist code. Per one estimate, that gave hopeful Swifties about a 1-in-413 chance of snagging a ticket. 

Thinking of extending the long weekend without taking time off work? You’re not alone.  

Driving the news: ‘Workcations’—or working vacations—are a new phenomenon gaining traction in an open world of work options, per the Financial Times. One study found over a quarter of working Canadians and 38% of Gen Z’ers planned to take a workcation last year. 

Many contests have been dubbed the “Fight of the Century,” but Walmart vs. Amazon might live up to that hyperbole, at least on the e-commerce front.

Driving the news: Amazon is opening a robotics-backed fulfilment centre in Ontario this fall, with the capacity to pick, pack, and ship ~750,000 items daily.

Talks to recruit soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé may have fallen flat, but at least Saudi Arabia's foray into golf, gaming, and now, critical minerals mining is taking off.

What happened: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, and state-owned mining company Ma’aden struck a US$2.6 billion deal with Brazilian mining giant Vale for a 10% stake in its base metals business—one of the world’s top suppliers of copper and nickel. 

The Associated Press might’ve been the first news outlet to cut an AI licensing deal, but they made sure they weren’t giving OpenAI an early-bird discount. 

What’s happening: Associated Press (AP)—the first news publisher to strike a content licensing deal with OpenAI—has built-in safeguards to the agreement that reflect the uncertainty of news content’s value in a future with powerful AI platforms, per the Wall Street Journal.