Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros, one of the early creators of the hedge fund, has spent decades financially encouraging liberal democracies, but he wonders in his late years if his efforts are failing - The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/magazine/george-soros-democrat-open-society.html
Speaking of regrets, Tim Berners-Lee, credited as the founder of the World Wide Web, is devastated by the rise of fake news and surveillance. But he is using his skills as a coder to use his new platform, Solid, to reclaim the web and return it to its roots - Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/the-man-who-created-the-world-wide-web-has-some-regrets
It was National Emoji Day earlier in July, and academics are wondering if the digital symbols (now totalling more than 3,000) herald the death or the dawn of language. - Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/academic-emoji-conference/
The largest trade in the NBA Canadian team’s history deserves analysis, and this piece from Albert Burneko was the best in the first 24 hours of wide-ranging comment. His verdict on the deal that send Demar DeRozan to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard: Could be good for both teams. - Deadspin
https://deadspin.com/an-extremely-informed-and-credible-analysis-of-the-kawh-1827687427
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Daily dispatch on industry and business pain and suffering from Tariff Man Trump’s ill-conceived actions on the world stage. Trade war harming Alaska’s bid to build an Arctic gas line - U.S. Energy Information Administration
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?
Energy efficiency in Uber and other ride-hailing initiatives, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Commercial solar flight getting closer to reality - BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44853242?utm_source
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
Whither Timmies? The monolithic Tim Hortons chain is showing some fissures lately, with falling sales and bad press over squabbling between its foreign parent company, franchisees and employees. Oddly, the chain may find an accidental benefactor in the current occupant of the White House, whose attacks on Prime Minister Trudeau have sparked a Great White North group hug that could prod Canadians to give their glowing hearts back to the brand – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/09/tim-hortons-canada-coffee-brand-popularity-downfall
Donald Trump says he might negotiate trade deal with Mexico first, Canada ‘later’ – The Star
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Though not labelled satire, that is surely what this reads like. Here’s a piece that purports to show the struggle and budgeting necessity for a millennial in pricy New York City, including a trip to the nearby Hamptons – Refinery29
https://www.refinery29.com/money-diary-new-york-city-marketing-intern-income
Nelson Bennett, reporter:
South Koreans find sunken Russian ship laden with $130 billion worth of gold. Finders keepers? Or is Russia is going to want it back? - Mining.com
Would-be Canadian LNG producers have another new competitor to worry about. Russian LNG producer has just made its first shipment of LNG to China, but it’s still about five days longer than B.C. to China - Reuters
https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N1UF1IA
A 19th century technology – the heat pump – holds great promise to cut emissions for home heating - Quartz
https://qz.com/1331709/global-sales-of-emissions-reducing-heat-pumps-are-soaring/
Albert Van Santvoort, reporter:
This piece explores the misnomers and misconceptions that inevitably arise during political discussions about government debt - Financial Times
https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/07/18/1531904860000/Goodbye-to-Sunday-morning-economics/
The B.C. government has introduced new rules requiring unionized workers for provincial infrastructure projects. The following articles explore some of the macro and microeconomic effects of increased unionization. The following summarizes a pivotal economic work ‘What do unions do’ that looks at the long run effects of labour unions on the economy including measures like productivity. - Journal of Legislation
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&context=jleg
The following two articles explore the findings in ‘What do unions do’ and test how they hold up -Trinity University, National Bureau of Economic Research
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.713.5880&rep=rep1&type=pdf
http://www.nber.org/papers/w9973.pdf
This study looks at how union wage premiums have trended in the recent past and discusses how unions can affect wages generally of union and nonunion workers - National Bureau of Economic Research
