Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Robots struggle to match workers on 'really hard' jobs (NYT)
• Walmart raises outlook on strong spending from value-seekers (Bloomberg)
• Blackstone strikes deal for Jersey Mike's subs (WSJ)
• CVS strikes deal with activist Glenview Capital for four board seats (CNBC)
• The case against deli meat (Grub Street)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• AI-generated food photos look tastier than the real deal, study finds (National Post)
• FedEx and Amazon discussed partnership as competition for returning packages intensifies (WSJ)
• How dollar stores exacerbated American food deserts - and what it means when they leave them (Salon)
• What must Nelson Peltz do to get some respect (NYT)
• Ben & Jerry's owner loses its taste for ice cream (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• PepsiCo, Carrefour bicker over who dumped who (WSJ)
• Annual Review of Shareholder Activism (Lazard)
• Plant-based has lost all meaning (The Atlantic)
• Why some Canadians are feeling duped about their breakfast cereal (CBC)
• Why McDonald's has been raising prices (Vox)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• One-third of Canadian restaurants operating at a loss as costs rise (Globe and Mail)
• As cost of living soars, millions of Canadians are turning to food banks (CBC)
• Amazon discloses it has more than 181 million users in the EU in first store transparency report (Globe and Mail)
• VF facing second activist push by Legion (Bloomberg)
• Heath Reisman is back to run Indigo for a very, very long time (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• America is binging on snacks, and food companies are eating it up (WSJ)
• Michael Medline dishes on supply chain woes, price-fixing allegations, and Galen Weston (Globe and Mail)
• MSG is finally getting its revenge (The Atlantic)
• Activist shareholder plans proxy battle at Shake Shack (WSJ)
• Why CEOs and boards should be terrified by activist investors and their new tactics (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The chaotic, dispiriting work of liquidating Harmon stores (NYT)
• After eight years, Domino's Pizza gives up on Italy (Bloomberg)
• Activist hedge fund pushes for fuel giant Parkland Corp. to be broken up (Globe and Mail)
• How companies can build an institutional capability to achieve competitive advantage (McKinsey)
• Starbucks new CEO trained as barista to prepare for role (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Activist investor Ryan Cohen takes stake in Alibaba and pushes for more stock buybacks (WSJ)
• Sainsbury's signs food delivery deal with Just Eat (The Guardian)
• Shopper rebellion against higher prices helps slow inflation (WSJ)
• The latest TikTok star is canned tuna (WSJ)
• From the archives (1949): Pizza (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The Mediterranean diet really is that good for you. Here's why (NYT)
• Majority of Canadian companies now linking executive pay to ESG (Globe and Mail)
• How one family parlayed Mexican food into a Los Angeles landmark (NYT)
• Preparing for the next generation of activist shareholders (BCG)
• 'Spectacular job report' has economists and credit markets shifting views on the Bank of Canada's next moves (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Why 'execution' is a bankrupt management concept (Medium)
• In defense of IRL shopping (The Atlantic)
• Activist Loeb may seek board changes at Bath & Body Works (Bloomberg)
• How retailers in Europe are navigating inflation (McKinsey)
• UK supermarkets launch Christmas price war with 19p veg offer (The Guardian)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Third Point takes stake in Colgate-Palmolive, urges pet food spin-off (Reuters)
• The mysterious rise of food allergies (Vox)
• Kroger-Albertsons antitrust review likely to focus on local store overlap (WSJ)
• The fast food stars of TikTok (The New Yorker)
• From the archives (2009): (Re)making a name in No Name (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Amazon's October attempt at Prime Day falls flat, analysts say (WSJ)
• An activist investor has a garbage plan for Coca-Cola (Semafor)
• Instacart cuts its valuation for a third time to $13 billion (Bloomberg)
• A salt-loving nation tries to shake the habit (WSJ)
• Retailers, brands, and tech platforms bet big on live-streamed shopping in the U.S. (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Costco sales rise as inflation continues to weigh on consumers (WSJ)
• Activist investor pushes Kohl's to oust its CEO and chairman (CNBC)
• Jana Partners has nearly 10% stake in Freshpet, sources say (WSJ)
• Why India's small sellers still don't trust Amazon (Rest of World)
• The YouTube baker fighting back against deadly 'craft hacks' (MIT Technology Review)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Organizational strategy & job titles (Medium)
• Tim Hortons faces scrutiny over app's tracking of customers (Globe and Mail)
• Issa Brothers, TDR may drop out of Boots race (Bloomberg)
• Unilever to add activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board (WSJ)
• Fake meat was touted as the 'future of food'. Why did it under-deliver (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Michael McCain steps down as CEO of Maple Leaf Foods (Globe and Mail)
• Carl Icahn pushes McDonald's to expand meatless options (Bloomberg)
• Macy's is betting even bigger on smaller stores (WSJ)
• Loblaw profit jumps nearly 40 percent even as inflation drives up costs (Globe and Mail)
• How some big grocery chains ensure that food deserts remain barren (The Counter)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Startups make it easier to get ADHD drugs (WSJ)
• The flip side of large M&A deals (McKinsey)
• What the research says about intermittent fasting and weight loss (Globe and Mail)
• Carl Icahn targets Kroger over pork, CEO pay (WSJ)
• The secret to keeping ice cream creamy (not crunchy) might be plant-based nanocrystals (Ars Technica)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Creating good packaging for packaged goods (McKinsey)
• Carl Icahn pushes McDonald's to change the way it sources its pork (NYT)
• Following rising food costs from the farm to the store (CBC)
• How a book is made (NYT)
• Corporate pricing is boosting inflation - but we're still buying (Vox)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategy for startups (Medium)
• Activist hedge fund Trian builds stake in Unilever (FT)
• Tech start-ups reach a new peak of froth (NYT)
• How a small town learned to stop worrying and love Amazon (WSJ)
• How Big Beef is fueling the Amazon's destruction (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Roger Martin: The lost art of strategy (Medium)
• Amazon's grocery battle isn't what you think (Bloomberg)
• Walgreens lines up Goldman Sachs to explore options for UK Boots sale (FT)
• Kohl's urged to consider sale by activist investor (WSJ)
• Coming soon: Faux-meat burgers made from maggots and mealworms (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Delivery Hero returns to Germany to take on Uber, Just Eat (Bloomberg)
• Activist investor ValueAct takes stake in 7-Eleven owner (Reuters)
• Canadian Tire to test membership program for e-commerce, Crave (Globe and Mail)
• Unleashing online brand growth with the right operating model (Bain)
• From the archives (2014): Target missed signs of a data breach (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Reliability vs validity in strategy (Medium)
• COVID-19's impact on demand and costs in the CPG industry (McKinsey)
• Danone board ousts Emmanuel Faber as chief and CEO (FT)
• With Shopify, small businesses strikes back at Amazon (WSJ)
• Walmart Canada closing 6 stores, investing $500 million to upgrade others (Globe and Mail)