August 2018 – Follow To Know

Loonie Could Jump Up To 82 Cents US If Trade Talks Are Successful, Says Economist | CBC News

August 31, 2018 mdbincbi

Even with a resilient, if not strong, Canadian economy, the loonie has failed to gain momentum this year — losing more than four per cent against the U.S. dollar — as trade uncertainty ate away at its “fundamental” value. But that could all change if a trade deal is struck between Canada and the U.S. soon, according to James Orlando, senior economist at TD Economics. He’s calling for the Canadian dollar to jump to as much as 82 cents US in the near term if trade talks between the two countries are successful. That’s a…

As Airlines Hike Checked Bag Fees, Charges For Carry-on Luggage Could Be Next | CBC News

August 30, 2018 mdbincbi

Buckle up: Now that Air Canada and WestJet have hiked their checked bag fees for economy fares, some airline experts predict charges for carry-on luggage could be next. “It’s only a matter of time,” said airline analyst, Fred Lazar. He believes higher checked bag fees will inspire even more people to stuff all their luggage into carry-on bags, prompting the two airlines to introduce carry-on charges to help stem the tide. “The initial driver will be the problems as people shift more and more to carry-on,” said Lazar, a professor of…

Free Trade Talks Could Finally See Canada Raise De Minimis Levels For Duty-Free Online Shopping | CBC News

August 29, 2018 mdbincbi

One concession Canada seems likely to make in the current round of free trade discussions with the U.S. and Mexico is on the level of duties that Canadians must pay when shopping online — and it’s one where Canadian consumers could end up be happy with the result. Known as the de minimis threshold, it’s the level at which consumers have to pay duties and taxes on imported goods, whether through bringing items back on a trip or ordering them online and having them delivered by mail or courier. In the United…

CRTC’s Unlocked Phone Rule Has Sparked A Crime Spree, Bell And Rogers Say | CBC News

August 18, 2018 mdbincbi

Bell and Rogers say new rules mandating all Canadian wireless carriers sell unlocked phones have triggered a rise in phone thefts. “There have been multiple instances of armed robberies at our stores targeting unlocked, new devices,” Bell said in a submission to the CRTC. The broadcast regulator had requested information from carriers to assess how its new rules are working out. To help spur competition, on Dec. 1, the CRTC mandated that all carriers unlock phones for free and only sell unlocked phones going forward. Previously, telcos sold customers phones locked to their networks and charged a…

Tesla Sues Ontario Government, Alleging Customers Denied Incentives | CBC News

August 16, 2018 mdbincbi

Tesla Motors Canada is suing the Ontario government, alleging it has suffered “substantial harm” and lost sales amid the cancellation of an electric vehicle rebate. In mid-July, Ontario Premier Doug Ford scrapped the province’s Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program (EHVIP), which was brought in by the previous Liberal government. The program offered rebates of up to $14,000 on qualifying vehicles, so long as they were under $75,000. When it cancelled the EHVIP, the province promised to honour the incentive for those who have their vehicle delivered, registered and plated if it…

Small Nudges Add Up To Big Electric Savings | Ars Technica

August 15, 2018 mdbincbi

Not all electricity is created equal. Utilities prioritize getting power from the cheapest sources available. That means that, as use rises to what’s typically a mid-afternoon peak, utilities end up sourcing ever more expensive supplies of electricity. By the time we reach the use typical of a late afternoon during a heat wave, the utilities have to call in the most expensive forms of power around—typically, the oldest, least-efficient, and most-polluting plants. So cutting down on energy use during these peak demand events is in a utility’s interests. And, since…

Why Solar Is Likely To Power The Home Of The Future | The Verge

August 13, 2018 mdbincbi

Right now in America, there are about 2 million homes with solar panels. Considering there are about 90 million single-family homes, that doesn’t seem like a lot. But consider this: we’re now on track to start adding a million new solar-powered systems each year. It’s taken a while to get here, but solar is increasingly becoming a popular option to power the Home of the Future. The number of homes with solar “will tick up pretty quickly,” says Justin Baca, vice president of markets and research for Solar Energies Industries…

A Private Tesla Backed By Saudi Arabia Might Not Be As Far-Fetched As You Think | TechCrunch

August 13, 2018August 13, 2018 mdbincbi

This week the business and tech world was stunned when Elon Musk hinted on August 7, via Twitter of course, that he wanted to take Tesla private. The estimated price tag for such a move is commonly put at up to $72 billion. Shortly after that no ‘white knights’ appeared and Tesla’s shares plummeted. But today, Bloomberg came out with a new report which might well fan the flames of speculation on Monday. Its story has sources which say that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (called the Public Investment Fund…

Cellphone Tracking Has Been Used In At Least 1 Canadian Mall, Former Employee Says | CBC News

August 9, 2018 mdbincbi

A Canadian real estate company already under investigation for using facial recognition technology in malls may also be tracking the movement of shoppers using mobile phones. A former employee of Cadillac Fairview told CBC News he was aware of at least one of the company’s Canadian shopping centres that had a system installed to track cellphone movement throughout the mall to collect market research data. CBC News has agreed to keep the former employee’s identity confidential. He worked directly for Cadillac Fairview in security for more than three years, and was responsible…

If A.I. Doesn’t Replace Your Job, It May Make It Much More Pleasant | Digital Trends

August 4, 2018 mdbincbi

From The Matrix to Wargames and iRobot to Metropolis, movies and novels have threatened us with a revolution of AI and robots for decades, whether that’s through a violent uprising or just replacing us at our jobs. Today, those theoretical dystopian futures seem more realistic than ever. With the growth of smart assistants and advanced machine learning, there is a growing concern that in the decades to come, there may be very little work for humans to do. But for just a moment, let’s set aside our apocalyptic tendencies and…