The address promised to extend key COVID-19 business-support measures and launch a raft of new incentives and funding programs targeting cleantech, worker training and connectivity for the post-pandemic economic recovery. It’ll pay for those plans in part by reviving proposals to tax stock options and tech giants. (The Logic)
The value of the private equity firm’s initial investment in payment-processing company Nuvei has more than quadrupled since the latter began trading publicly last week. Novacap senior partner David Lewin—also a member of Nuvei’s board—told The Logic the investment was the firm’s “most successful ever.” Its stake in Nuvei is now worth almost $1.8 billion. “I don’t want to take away from the other successful companies we have made investments in, but if you categorize it in terms of value, yes, this is the most successful,” Lewin said. (The Logic)
The Toronto-based accounting-software firm acquired Facturama, which has over 19,000 customers, for an undisclosed sum. Facturama CEO Humberto Ramirez López is joining FreshBooks as part of the deal, and will lead the firm’s expansion into Mexico. (The Logic)
An internal investigation into a data breach it said involved fewer than 200 merchants found “two rogue members of [the company’s] support team were engaged in a scheme to obtain customer transactional records of certain merchants,” the company said in a statement. The data included basic contact information and order details, but not complete payment card numbers or other sensitive personal or financial information, it said. Shopify terminated their access to the network and contacted law enforcement. (The Logic)
Ford will build the vehicles mainly in Windsor and Oakville in Ontario as part of a settlement reached with Unifor, whose members still need to ratify the deal. (The Logic)
The frequency, size and types of cyber attacks have substantially increased across the globe since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder and COO of web-security company Cloudflare. In a conference call with The Logic’s editor-in-chief David Skok, Saskatchewan native Zatlyn emphasized that the targets of these attacks were most often employees working from home, given how insecure networks at home are compared to in the office. (The Logic)
The system, called Mesa, uses real-time data and automation to control how commercial buildings use energy—for example, turning off power outlets and adjusting heating and cooling systems based on “thermal dynamics, tenant feedback, and occupancy levels.” Sidewalk said Mesa can help buildings cut their electricity costs by 20 per cent. (The Logic)
Isabelle Hudon, envoy to France, urged Canadian governments and businesses to “keep on promoting trade as a quick recovery path,” citing opportunities in Europe. Dominic Barton, ambassador to China, called the Chinese government’s continued detention of Canadians Michael Spavor, Michael Kovrig and Robert Schellenberg the primary issue in the bilateral relationship, but said that shouldn’t “stop Canadians from being able to trade and work [in China].” Both ambassadors were speaking at a Toronto Region Board of Trade event on Tuesday. (The Logic)
The controversial Chinese telecom’s decision to cut 1,000 jobs and over US$72 million in R&D investments comes two years after the country banned both Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network. Huawei revenues in Australia will shrink to less than half their current levels because of the decision, according to Huawei’s chief corporate affairs officer Jeremy Mitchell. (Australian Financial Review)
A Monday Global Times editorial said the agreement—which will create a U.S.-based subsidiary, with Americans filling four of five board seats, and allow Oracle to review TikTok’s source code—reflects the U.S. government’s “bullying style and hooligan logic.” Meanwhile, TikTok said it removed over 104 million videos for breaching community guidelines or terms of service in the first half of 2020. (Reuters, The Logic)