Here are five things you need to know this morning
Carney heads to China: Prime Minister Mark Carney is making his way to China today, with a stop along the way to meet with Coastal First Nations in British Columbia today to discuss major projects. It will be the first official visit by a Canadian leader to China in nine years, as Carney looks to boost Canadian exports to other countries in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to rip up the North American free- trade pact. Relations between the two countries have been strained since China slapped punishing duties on Canadian agriculture products after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Gold heist arrest: A suspect in what investigators call Canada’s largest-ever gold heist has been arrested. Peel Regional Police arrested Arsalan Chaudhary, 43, after landing at the Toronto airport from Dubai Monday, and charged him for theft over $5,000, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offense. On April 17, 2023, about 400 kilograms of pure gold was offloaded from a flight at Toronto Pearson International Airport after arriving from Zurich along with $2.5 million in cash. But the shipment disappeared after being transferred to another part of the airport, triggering a cross-border manhunt.
Satellite startup on BNN Bloomberg: Toronto-based startup Kepler Communications has launched 10 new low-Earth-orbit satellites via SpaceX, the latest step in its buildout of a network for fast telecommunications services from space. Kepler’s satellites, each weighing about 300 kilograms, were deployed from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base last weekend. The launch is a significant milestone for Kepler, which has raised $200 million since it was founded a decade ago. The company is developing an optical relay network for real-time communications from space. We’ll speak with CEO Mina Mitry live on BNN Bloomberg today at 11:20 a.m. eastern time.
U.S. consumer prices still rising: Inflation remains stubbornly high in the U.S. Consumer prices in December rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier. The report marks the first complete look at inflation trends in months. High prices and a cooling labour market remain the top concerns for Americans. Price gains were led by increase in the cost of shelter, food and energy. The report caps off a year in which inflation gradually eased but remained uneven across the economy.
You deserve a break today: McDonald’s Canada is freezing the price of some of its items for one year. A small cup of coffee will be one dollar and the price of the McValue meals is being dropped to $5. The fast-food chain says Canadians are facing challenges and are insecure financially and the freeze is what customers are looking for. In recent months, Tim Hortons, Wendy’s and Burger King have all introduced meal deals or small combos.
