BCE Inc. announced Wednesday that it is cutting 1,300 positions, around three per cent of its workforce, and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to 'significantly adapt' how it delivers the news.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Bell cuts 1,300 positions and shuts down radio stations
BCE Inc. BCE-T announced this week that it would lay off roughly 1,300 people, close six AM radio stations across Canada and sell three others. Alexandra Posadzki reports that the significant reorganization is due to declining legacy phone revenues as well as losses in its news and radio operations. The roles that are being cut are primarily in management, BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in an open letter. The Bell layoffs come at a time where Canadian telecoms have seen their stock prices under pressure and profits drop due to the threat of a looming recession.
Billionaire businessman Michael Andlauer to buy the Ottawa Senators
After months of speculations and a list of contenders spanning from billionaires to A-list celebrities, the sale of the Ottawa Senators is coming to a close. A group led by Toronto-based businessman Michael Andlauer – which also includes Ottawa business executive and Farm Boy CEO Jeff York and Ottawa’s Malhotra family, owners of Claridge Homes – has reached an agreement in principle to purchase the NHL team for close to US$1-billion, Simon Houpt and Jason Kirby report. The investor group will own 90 per cent of team, with the remaining 10 per cent retained by the two daughters of the club’s late former owner, Eugene Melnyk. The sale still needs to be approved by the NHL’s board of governors.
People are falling behind on credit cards and car loans, but not mortgages
Household finances are showing more signs of cracking under the weight of large debt loads and high interest rates. The strain is obvious in credit cards and vehicle loans. Well, everything except mortgages. Canadian household debt levels inched up to a record high in the first quarter, with the typical household owing almost $1.85 in credit market debt for every dollar of disposable income, according to Statistics Canada. But mortgage delinquencies remain at record lows – thanks to the extraordinary steps lenders have taken to shield borrowers from the pain of higher rates. Jason Kirby takes a closer look in this week’s Decoder.
How Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card became the Holy Grail of Canadian sports collectibles
Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card is the most valuable card ever produced on Canadian soil. In fact, Dave Parkinson describes it as “the Holy Grail of Canadian sports collectibles” – and he happens to owns one. The card, which was produced by Canadian company The O-Pee-Chee Company, Ltd. and marks The Great One’s rookie year, is a centrepiece of multimillion-dollar sports-card auctions across the world. The Globe columnist set out to find more about the special card from his childhood, including where it came from, how it was made, and why someone would spend millions of dollars to own it. Read about his journey.
Inside Saadi Gadhafi’s secret plan to sell his luxury Toronto penthouse
Saadi Gadhafi, the third-born son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, is trying to orchestrate a sale of his Toronto penthouse apartment, which remains subject to an asset freeze by the United Nations Security Council, Rita Trichur reported this week. The UN Security Council imposed a financial freeze order on the Gadhafi family, including Saadi Gadhafi, in 2011 to prevent the inner circle from using any ill-gotten wealth, which belongs to the state, to further repress the Libyan people. The man who has power of attorney to sell the Toronto penthouse, who says he was unaware of the asset freeze, has since halted plans for a sale.
Glencore’s proposal for Teck’s coal business is worth up to US$8.2-billion
This week, Glencore PLC GLNCY offered to buy Teck Resources Ltd.’s TECK-B-T coal business in a proposal worth US$8.2-billion. The proposal was presented as an alternative to its $23-billion takeover bid that was rejected by the Canadian mining company in April. Niall McGee and Eric Reguly report that Glencore and Teck have entered discussions around the possible sale. Teck has since said in a statement that the Glencore proposal is “preliminary in detail, conditional and non-binding.”
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Now that you’re all caught up, prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.