Friday News Round Up: August 18, 2017
Here are some of the stories that caught our eye this week:
Should “non-banks” be able to use the word bank in marketing materials?
Back in June OSFI issued an advisory stating non-banks like credit unions would need to phase out words like “bank”, “banker”, “banking” from their websites and printed materials to comply to regulations within the Bank Act. On Friday last week, they suspended this decision because the Department of Finance said it was seeking opinion on the issue. OSFI will resume with the Advisory once those discussions are complete.
The gap grows between Ontario’s rich and poor
A new economic report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has flagged worrying statistics around the growing income gap between Ontario’s richest and poorest residents. According to the CCPA Ontario is trending towards a service-based labour market while moving away from manufacturing. As a result, the poorest half of Ontario, consisting of working-class manufacturing-dependent families, saw their share of earnings shrink from 22 per cent in 2000 to 19 per cent in 2015.
The Venture Capital environment in Canada
TechVibes this week published an in-depth assessment of Canada’s VC market and how it stacks up to North America overall. They determined:
1. The early stage market is super competitive, because…
2. The number of deals has declined dramatically while there are more companies looking to attract early stage capital
They recommend startups start their search for capital early, and raise enough to give yourself a cushion for the next phase in which you’ll need capital.
Tech companies take a stand
In a world where huge tech companies have as much (more?) influence on opinion as politicians, their responses to political and social issues are important, as they send a strong message to their employees, customers, and the general public. Here are some of the major organizations who have responded and taken action following the violent events that started in Charlottesville last week.
Also read: