Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
How's Tariff Man's world trade war going? Not making America that great again, apparently. – Peterson Institute for International Economics
https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-and-investment-policy-watch/trumps-war-us-exports?utm
More speedbumps on the road to widespread electrical vehicle use in North America. – Electric Power Research Institute
https://www.epri.com/#/pages/product/3002017164/?lang=en-US
Interesting insights on what progress, if any, the world is making in retooling its energy mix to reduce carbon emissions and deliver on Paris Agreement commitments. – Wood Mackenzie
https://www.eto.think.woodmac.com/
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
Canada's cannabis industry is largely housed under glass. But many greenhouse-intensive growers who once pooh-poohed pot grown outdoors are stepping into outside cultivation to take advantage of far lower costs. – Bloomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/asparagus-makes-way-for-marijuana-in-canada-s-fields-1.1298244
Intriguing look at former prime minister Stephen Harper’s tireless globe-trotting on behalf of right-wing causes, and the latest trends in the “high-tech stalking” of Canadian voters, dirty tricks and voter suppression. – Tyee
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/08/06/Harper-Heads-Global-Org-Help-Elect-Right-Wing-Parties/
Hayley Woodin, reporter:
China and Canada are out, and Mexico – against all odds and rhetoric – is in. For the first time in recent history, North America’s third-largest economy could end the year as the United States’ top trade partner. – Quartz
https://qz.com/1682861/mexico-is-now-americas-number-one-trading-partner/
The nascent Canada Infrastructure Bank continues to ramp up operations. It expects to assess approximately 100 infrastructure projects this fiscal year, and has 25 proposals undergoing review or active due diligence. There remain many unanswered questions about the bank, including: Can it effectively deploy $35 billion? Will its investments attract multiples in private sector capital (as it expects they will)? Will it ultimately help get key Canadian infrastructure projects built? The bank’s summary corporate plan answers some of them. – CIB
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Started reading the just-released book Folly Bistro, by Bruno Huber, who operated Le Bistro de Paris on Denman Street in the West End between 2010 and 2012. He admittedly knew little about French cooking when it opened. The book promises to be a “hilarious” account of the life of the restaurant as well as a tale that reveals challenges such as bureaucracy, outlandish egos and chaos in the kitchen. – Granville Island Publishing
https://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/2point0/product/folly-bistro/
This Washington Post article is as interesting for its content about the evolution of African-American land ownership in the U.S. South as it is for its corrections – about a dozen corrections, clarifications or bits of important initially omitted information is noted at the beginning. – Washington Post
One of my fondest memories of Rome was relaxing on the Spanish Steps, or more accurately on a ledge adjoining the steps. I read in my guidebook about the history of the area, and reflected on its past. A new city regulation now bans sitting on the steps or the ledge and police are sternly shooing tourists away. Sad to see. – New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/world/europe/rome-spanish-steps-sit.html
Tyler Orton, reporter:
Here’s how your word choices could affect hiring gender-diverse talent. – LinkedIn
And for those business travellers looking for truly unnecessary thrills ... These are the scariest train routes in the world. – CEO World
https://ceoworld.biz/2019/08/01/these-are-the-scariest-train-routes-in-the-world/
