12: Let the oil flow. After 12 years of construction, political wrangling, cost overruns and other delays, the Trans Mountain pipeline has started operating. The project, which cost some $25 billion (CA$34 billion), will nearly triple the amount of crude shipped from Alberta to the Pacific coast, expanding access to the lucrative Asia-Pacific market and boosting GDP Canada, the world’s fourth largest oil producer.
1.8: This feels … unproductive. Canada’s labor productivity — a measure, loosely speaking, of how efficiently an economy produces goods and services — fell by 1.8% last year, the third consecutive year of decline. Analysts blamed lagging investment in infrastructure, research, and technology as companies enjoyed an influx of comparatively inexpensive migrant labor. Falling productivity could open Canada up to stiffer competition from Mexico, which is seeing a massive influx of foreign investment as US companies look to cut their dependence on production facilities in China.
3: New job openings in the US fell to their lowest point in three years last month, according to official stats released Wednesday. Employers had 8.5 million positions open in March, a decline of 325,000 from February. That’s good news if you want to see the Fed start to cut rates. Why? Because, the thinking goes, fewer job openings mean employers are less likely to boost salary offerings to entice workers. That, in turn, lowers inflationary pressures, since higher wages are a component of overall price growth.
0: Under a new law, the US will import zero Russian uranium, which is used to power nuclear reactors. The bill, approved by the House of Representatives in December, passed the Senate unanimously this week. The measure aims to choke off another stream of revenue for the Kremlin’s war machine and to boost the domestic uranium industry, particular in the state of Wyoming. In 2022, US power plants imported about 12% of its uranium from Russia.
America’s new National Security Strategy confirms what Europeans have feared for months: Washington now sees a strong, unified European Union as a problem to be solved, not an ally to be supported.
In this episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith sits down with Ed Policy, President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, to discuss how purpose-driven leadership and innovation are shaping the future of one of the world’s most iconic sports franchises. Ed shares how technology and community-focused initiatives, from Titletown Tech to health and safety innovations on the field, are transforming not just the game of football, but the economy and culture of Green Bay itself. He explains how combining strategic vision with investment in local startups is keeping talent in the Midwest and creating opportunities that extend far beyond Lambeau Field.
Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.
More than a week after Hondurans cast their ballots in a presidential election, the country is still stuck in a potentially-dangerous post-election fog.