BC port strike hurting hundreds of small businesses: CFIB
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Critical shipments getting caught up in the dispute, small businesses say
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Published July 11, 2023 • 3 minute read
An empty pallet at the Port of Vancouver. More than half of small businesses surveyed by CFIB say the strike at British Columbia’s ports is impacting their operations. Photo by Jason Payne/PNG
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As the strike at the ports of British Columbia stretches into its 11th day, more than half of 1,400 Canadian small business owners surveyed by the Canadian…
Microsoft to lay off more employees months after letting 10,000 workers go
Microsoft confirmed Monday that it’s eliminating additional jobs, a week after the start of its 2024 fiscal year.
The cuts are in addition to the downsizing announced in January that resulted in 10,000 layoffs. The software maker also disclosed a small number of cuts this time last year. GeekWire reported on the latest cuts earlier Monday.
Amazon, Google and other large technology companies have also scaled back this year after adding headcount rapidly to meet rising demand during the Covid pandemic. Microsoft has said in recent months that clients are looking for ways to save money on their cloud computing…
The Bank of Canada raises the key interest rate
OTTAWA –
The Bank of Canada raised its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent on Wednesday, its first increase since pausing hikes in January. The central bank’s key interest rate has not been this high since April 2001.
Several factors led to the bank’s decision to raise the key interest rate, including economic growth in Canada. Gross Domestic Product exceeded expectations in the first quarter of this year, growing by 3.1 per cent.
The central bank says demand in the economy has rebounded, with surprisingly strong consumer spending. Housing market activity has picked up again…
Breaking down the snacking occasion
CHICAGO — The devil, as they say, is in the details. While most people agree that snacking is a significant food and beverage market trend, success requires understanding who the key customers are, what they prefer to snack on and when.
The market researcher 84.51º, Cincinnati, a business unit of Kroger Co., dedicated its May 2023 Consumer Digest report to better understanding the snack shopper. The report consists of responses from 450 verified Kroger shoppers who had shopped at one of the retailer’s banners during the past three months and focused on their snacking habits.
“Younger shoppers are the shoppers…
Air Canada briefly grounds flights due to computer system problem – Business News
Glitch grounds flights
The Canadian Press – May 25, 2023 / 11:06 am | Stories: 428570
Photo: The Canadian Press
Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Air Canada briefly grounded its planes Thursday due to a problem with its computer system.
The airline says a technical issue with the system it uses to transmit messages to aircraft and monitor their performance, prompted a halt to operations.
Airline spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the temporary order was precautionary, and that the system is returning to normal.…
Chile’s plan for state control in lithium dismays business
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Chilean government’s newly announced plan to have the state take a majority stake in the lithium industry disconcerted business leaders, though analysts cautioned that the proposal appears to try to strike a middle ground between competing interests.
President Gabriel Boric announced in a national broadcast Thursday night that private companies will have to partner with the government in exploiting Chile’s lithium, a metal used to make rechargeable batteries.
Boric said the state would take a controlling interest in each partnership, leading some to call it a nationalization of the industry, while others disagreed.
“Phrising it…
Important team and business changes
Team –
We are changing the shape of Shopify significantly today to pay unshared attention to our mission. There are a number of consequences to this, and I don’t want to bury the lede: after today Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics; this means some of you will leave Shopify today. I recognized the crushing impact this decision had on some of you, and did not make this decision lightly.
In the next 5 minutes you’ll get a follow up that tells you if you are affected. There’s no way to make this…
Microsoft will add AI tech to office suite programs like Word, Excel
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday trumpeted its latest plans to put artificial intelligence into the hands of more users, answering a space of unveilings this week by its rival Google with upgrades to its own widely used office software.
The technology company previewed a new AI “copilot” for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Outlook emails.
First open to select business customers for testing, AI will offer a draft in these applications, speeding up content creation and freeing up workers’ time, Microsoft said.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company, which is outpacing peers through investments…
