Stephan's Monday Picks

• The end of the lunch bowl era (Bloomberg)
• New York law could set stage for AI regulation's next big battleground (NYT)
• Goodbye price tags, hello dynamic pricing (NYT)
• Why you may not want lower prices as much as you think (Washington Post)
• Economy was on stronger footing heading into trade war, Statscan revisions show (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Canada's unemployment rate jumps to near eight-year high in November at 6.8% (Globe and Mail)
• How America lost its taste for the middle (The Atlantic)
• Frasers to launch takeover bid for Norwegian sports retailer XXL (WSJ)
• A menu for success in a challenging restaurant market (BCG)
• Ulta Beauty raises outlook amid financial discipline push, sees 'transitional' year ahead (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Getir set for breakup and Mubadala cash injection (FT)
• Canada's boss economy: What explains the boom in management jobs (Globe and Mail)
• Go woke, go broke? Not a chance, say Ben and Jerry (WSJ)
• BoC's Macklem says Canadian economy appears to be on track for soft landing (Globe and Mail)
• Every year, StatsCan tweaks how it calculates inflation. Here's what you need to know about this year's changes (CBC)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• When you miscalculate the value of brands (Rita McGrath)
• Has the luxury e-commerce bubble burst (NYT)
• A $20 billion merger depends on whether you think Walmart is a supermarket (WSJ)
• Bank of Canada warns of 'low productivity emergency' (Globe and Mail)
• Hershey, Mondelez bet big on Easter as cocoa price crisis looms (Reuters)

 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 Friday Picks

• How Budweiser salvaged its World Cup (NYT)
• Canadian debt payments climb at record pace as interest payments rise (Globe and Mail)
• Supermarkets offer more store brands to lure cost-conscious customers (WSJ)
• The state of grocery in Southeast Asia (McKinsey)
• From the archives (2019): P&G puts its focus on reach (Marketing Week)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Lowe's selling Canadian retail operations, including Rona, to Sycamore Partners (Globe and Mail)
• CVS, Walmart, Walgreens reach $13 billion opioid settlement (Bloomberg)
• Freeland's economic update warns of 2023 recession, announces tax on corporate share buybacks (Globe and Mail)
• Was Jack Welch the greatest CEO of his day - or the worst (The New Yorker)
• From the archives (2008): Ontario's store wars marching west (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Michelin Guide awards 13 Toronto restaurants with prestigious stars (Globe and Mail)
• Billionaire no more: Patagonia founder gives away the company (NYT)
• Zara billionaire Ortega bets $700 million on U.S. warehouses (Bloomberg)
• Aldi becomes fourth largest U.K. supermarket (BBC)
• PM aims to give inflation relief to low-income Canadians with $4.6 billion package (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Canada's economic growth lags expectations, but unlikely to deter another BoC rate hike (Globe and Mail)
• The people's republic of Shein (NYT)
• Droughts hurt world's largest economies (WSJ)
• Sam's Club raises membership fee for the first time in nine years (CNBC)
• Strategic courage in an age of volatility (McKinsey)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: What would have to be true (Medium)
• Weak business investment threatens Canadian prosperity (CD Howe Institute)
• Amazon among bidders for Signify Health (WSJ)
• Canadian agtech Vive raises $26 million as 'farmaceutical' nanotechnology wins over growers (Globe and Mail)
• Amazon's acquisition of the Roomba is dangerous (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The protein transformation (BCG)
• Amazon explored opening home goods, electronics discount stores (Bloomberg)
• Those Cosmic Wings you had delivered, they're really from Applebee's (WSJ)
• Americans have $1.7 trillion to burn in revenge spending binge (Bloomberg)
• A pasta factory in Brooklyn (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• How the pandemic made lamb more popular with Americans (Bloomberg)
• The emerging markets e-commerce opportunity (Brookings)
• GDP tops estimates in 'pleasant surprise' (Globe and Mail)
• Experience design is the future of retail (McKinsey)
• From the archives (2018): How the acquisition of Grocery Gateway prepared Longo's to compete in the digital age (Maclean's)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The shift from pre-competitive to competitive (Medium)
• T-shirts are the souvenirs from the year we went nowhere (The Atlantic)
• The wannabe food influencer who's wanted by the FBI (The Guardian)
• Eight charts that explain Canada's tough task of recovering jobs (Globe and Mail)
• If Weston sells its bakery business, the 'rationale' for holding company comes into question (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The role of strategy in achieving managerial effectiveness (Medium)
• Toronto has had some of the longest business closures in North America (Globe and Mail)
• The best bagels are in California (NYT)
• Debranding is the new branding (Bloomberg)
• Inside the pandemic wealth boom - and why it's not spread evenly (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Unhealthy foods aren't just bad for you, they may be addictive (NYT)
• Is radical transparency the future of the fashion industry (WSJ)
• 2020 was the worst year on record for Canada's economy, shrinking 5.4% (CBC)
• Michael's is attracting buyout interest from private equity (NYT)
• Target builds on momentum, announces 2021 strategic investments (Target)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• It's no accident that Target is a Covid winner (Bloomberg)
• Canada's inflation rate cools to 0.1% annual pace in July (CBC)
• Pandemic fuels home category sales (Retail Dive)
• Virus alters where people open their wallets (NYT)
• Why the end of CERB could could hit consumer spending - and complicate the recovery (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Coronavirus-hit retailers create new curbside shopping experiences (WSJ)
• Virtual health: A look at the next frontier of care delivery (McKinsey)
• U.S. retail sales rose and jobless claims hold steady (NYT)
• Amazon's boom keeps its Canadian real estate partner humming (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (2013): Living in the futures (HBR)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Can salad bars be saved (Bloomberg)
• DavidsTea to 'significantly reduce' number of stores and shift to online selling (CBC)
• Bed Bath & Beyond to sell 200 stores as sales fall by 50% (WSJ)
• As debt soars, Ottawa banks on record low interest rates (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2017): A first look at how Lidl plans to conquer the U.S. (Washington Post)

Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Fastest-rising food prices in decades drive consumers to hunt for value (WSJ)
• What it looks like inside an Amazon warehouse now (NYT)
• Chanel, Revlon, L'Oreal pivoting away from talc in some products (Reuters)
• The future of experimental retail in the era of Coronavirus (Retail Dive)
• How a family bakery used technology to expand and bring in some big brands (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• The economy is experiencing an epic collapse in demand (NYT)
• Ikea can't open stores fast enough after flubbing online (WSJ)
• The end of minimalism (The Atlantic)
• AstraZeneca eyes Gilead in Big Pharma's move beyond Covid (Bloomberg)
• Artizia weathers the COVID-19 storm with increase in e-commerce orders (Globe and Mail)