Up in the sky

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a movie you couldn’t help but fall in love with. A stellar performance from Dick Van Dyke, great tunes, and c’mon, what kid isn’t gonna get stoked about a magical car that drives, turns into a boat, and flies? 😍

You gotta figure that the folks over at Klein Vision were fans of the film. After thirty years of working to develop a flying car, their AirCar is certified airworthy, and they’re looking to make them available to the public next year.

Talk about slippin’ into the future ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)

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Celebrating 1000 Issues

We’re giving away a $1000 Amazon eGift Card to celebrate our 1000th issue. For every poll you vote in between now and May 14th you’ll earn one entry into the giveaway, so vote below to get in on the action. The winner will be drawn on May 15th!**

Shout out to Zenbev for sponsoring our milestone 1000th issue and giveaway.

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IN THE NEWS

Tariff-related job cuts start to materialize

Statistics Canada published labour data on Friday revealing Canada’s unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points in April to 6.9%, as the first signs of a tariff-induced economic slowdown started to materialize.

“This is the first major data reading for April, and it shows that tariffs are already taking a material bite out of the economy,” BMO chief economist Doug Porter said in a note to clients Friday.

The largest job losses occurred in Canada’s manufacturing sector with 31,000 cuts, the majority of which were in Ontario. 27,000 were also lost in wholesale and retail trade. Windsor, Ont. was hit particularly hard, with its unemployment rate rising 1.4 percentage points to 10.7%.

At the same time, RBC economist Nathan Janzen says regions with higher reliance on trade-sensitive industries are likely to see more volatility when it comes to employment trends over the next few months.

“We do expect the unemployment rate to drift higher into the summer, but at the same time, we don’t really expect the bottom to fall out of the labour market,” he said. “That’s still also highly contingent on not seeing further escalation in U.S. tariff policy.”

CONSUMER

Private clinics selling patient data to pharmaceutical firms

A new study conducted by researchers at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital found certain patient data is being leveraged by private health clinics and sold to pharmaceutical companies.

The study was published in JAMA Network Open, and led the researchers to write in their report that “chains of for-profit primary care clinics, physicians, commercial data brokers and pharmaceutical companies…work together to convert patient medical records into commercial assets [to] further the interests of the pharmaceutical companies."

Study lead author Dr. Sheryl Spithoff and her team identified two ways this “asset creation model” is typically executed. The first involves private clinics taking patient data, stripping the patients’ names from the record, and selling it to the pharmaceutical company. The other model is executed with pharmaceutical companies creating or buying private clinics, and making them direct subsidiaries, meaning they already own the patient data hosted by these clinics.

"All of these things are happening without any degree of transparency," said Matthew Herder, director of the Health Justice Institute at Dalhousie University in Halifax. "That's why this paper is such an important paper. It's starting to bring to light what's really going on."

MONEY MONDAYS

Canada could learn from U.S.-U.K. trade deal

American president Donald Trump announced the finalizing of a trade deal with the United Kingdom the other day in the first of many expected bilateral agreements stemming from Trump’s global trade war.

While Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the 10% baseline tariffs are expected to remain in place long-term, the deal will still foster better trade relations with the U.K.

On top of the 10% baseline tariffs, the U.S. is still working on how it will counter the U.K.’s digital service tax, which levies non-British firms doing business in the U.K. A similar tax was implemented by former prime minister Justin Trudeau, and Canada will look to see how it’s handled in the U.S.-U.K. deal in order to prepare for the eventual renegotiation of USMCA.

On top of the digital services realm, Canada will be looking to position itself similarly to the U.K. on auto tariffs in order to regain the upper hand; the British did very well on this topic, according to American Automotive Policy Council President Matt Blunt.

“Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a U.K. vehicle with very little U.S. content than a (USMCA-compliant) vehicle from Mexico or Canada that is half American parts,” Blunt said in a statement from the council, which represents the Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

“We hope this preferential access for U.K. vehicles over North American ones does not set a precedent for future negotiations with Asian and European competitors.”

HEALTH

Oura Ring adds glucose monitoring and meal tracking

Oura Ring is among the top smart health rings on the market, and is using its success to reinvest in and improve the product. Soon, Oura Ring users will be able to monitor their glucose levels and leverage an AI tool to track their meals.

The glucose monitoring feature is the result of a partnership between Oura and Dexcom, a healthcare company that specifically makes products for glucose monitoring. Its Stelo Glucose Biosensor will be key for the partnership with Oura, and though it’s intended specifically for those with Type 2 diabetes, anyone interested in tracking their blood sugar can use it.

Oura pursued the partnership based on in-app feedback from its users suggesting there was a great deal of interest in blood sugar tracking. The app will use the sensor and help break down the various factors contributing to a person’s blood sugar levels.

The meal tracking feature will elevate Oura Rings Meals to be AI-powered, allowing users to take photos of their meals, upload them to the app, and then let the AI do its thing, analyzing and breaking down the pros, cons, and overall macros of the food presented.

Oura says calorie counting isn’t the be-all-end-all of meal tracking, and it wants to be able to provide a variety of useful insights for those looking to keep up a nutrition routine.

CURIOSITIES

Who’s zoomin’ who?

Evolution is based on natural selection, but when humans intervene, the selection is no longer natural, and certain traits end up prioritized, resulting in evolution towards the extreme.

For example, selective breeding of certain types of cats and dogs leans on heavy prioritization of the traits that mimic human infants—round skull, flat face, and wide, low-set eyes. This can be seen in domesticated cats and certain types of dogs, like pugs and bull breeds.

Evolutionary biologist Abby Grace Drake and her team analyzed 3D scans of 1,810 cat and dog skulls sourced from museums, veterinary schools, and digital archives. They found examples of both the evolutionary principles of divergence and convergence; the former being when wild animals migrate in separate paths, leading to different environmental pressures and a propensity to evolve differently; and the latter being when animals end up living under similar environmental pressures, leading to a propensity to evolve similarly.

In essence, cat breeds like Persian, Main coon, and Siamese, along with over 100 different dog breeds from pugs to collies, have “effectively hijacked the ancient caregiving mechanisms” that trigger adult human instincts to care for infants, and they’ve done so by evolving to resemble human infants.

MUSIC

The Who says farewell, for realsies

The Song is Over is a fitting name for The Who’s upcoming tour, in which the iconic British rock ‘n roll band led by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend will say goodbye to the world.

On top of it being their farewell tour, its name is also based on the song itself that appeared on the band’s 1971 album, Who’s Next.

“Well, all good things must come to an end. It is a poignant time," Pete Townshend said in a statement announcing the tour. "For me, playing to American audiences and those in Canada has always been incredible…I must say that although the road has not always been enjoyable for me, it is usually easy: the best job I could ever have had. I keep coming back. Every time I do, I meet new fans and feel new energy.

“Roger and I are in a good place, despite our age, eager to throw our weight behind this fond farewell to all our faithful fans, and hopefully to new ones who might jump in to see what they have been missing for the last 57 years. This tour will be about fond memories, love and laughter. Make sure you join in.”

The tour begins Aug 16 in Sunrise, Florida, and at this point, includes 16 dates in total, with the final taking place in Las Vegas on Sept. 28.

STAKERS IN THE WILD

Castle hopping

We love to see it…Stakers in the wild! Today’s digital post card is from Staker Chris and his lovely wife Jackie! Can you guess where they’re trippin’? 

STAKE TRIVIA

A comedy of comedians

Did you know that today would’ve been George Carlin’s 88th birthday? 🥳 

To celebrate, we’ll be quizzing you on some of the best comedians with today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.

**SEE FULL 1000TH ISSUE GIVEAWAY RULES HERE.