U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department on October 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. Garland announced that TD Bank would plead guilty and pay $3 billion dollars in fines and penalties over money laundering-related charges.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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.
TD Bank fined US$3-billion after pleading guilty in U.S. money-laundering case
Toronto-Dominion Bank has pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, and has agreed to pay more than US$3-billion in penalties. The U.S. Department of Justice and three U.S. banking regulators unveiled the scathing indictment on Thursday, painting a portrait of the bank’s willing role in moving money for drug cartels and criminal organizations, Stefanie Marotta reports. In addition to the US$3-billion fine, non-monetary penalties include an asset cap on its U.S. retail banking business. Meanwhile, James Bradshaw and Tim Kiladze report that the failures to stop money laundering in TD Bank’s U.S. division “were egregious, pervasive and well known even at senior levels of the bank.”
The Globe’s first ever Big Guide to Canadian Credit Cards
Introducing our Big Guide to Canadian Credit Cards. Choosing a credit card that’s right for you can be tricky, so The Globe compiled a list of the top credit cards in Canada to make the decision-making process clearer and more informed. The guide by Chen Wang and Yang Sun assesses travel, cash back and balance transfer cards – providing guidance to help Canadians navigate options like rewards programs, interest rates, and fees.
Decoder: Living costs have outpaced incomes for bottom 40 per cent of families
The income inequality in Canada has widened to a record gap, according to two reports released this week. For low-income families, the prices for goods and services have risen faster than their incomes since 2019, according to a report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The average disposable income for families in the bottom 20 per cent of incomes increased by roughly $1,500 between the end of 2019 and the first quarter of this year. During that same period, living costs grew by nearly $2,050. Meanwhile, new numbers from Statistics Canada reveal the gap in the share of disposable income between the top and bottom 40 per cent of households reached the widest level on record. Jason Kirby takes a closer look at the figures in this week’s Decoder.
7-Eleven owner to cut assets and refocus on convenience stores to counter Couche-Tard takeover
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has made another attempt to acquire the Japanese parent of 7-Eleven in its efforts to dominate the global convenience-store business. Seven & i Holdings Co. said in a statement Wednesday that it has received a revised proposal from Couche-Tard. The Japanese company did not disclose the size of the latest Canadian offer, but a source familiar with the matter said the new price is roughly US$47-billion, Jameson Berkow reports. That would be a 22-per-cent boost on a per-share basis from the initial offer of about US$39-billion. The company also reported falling earnings and announced several new changes earlier this week, including changing its name to 7-Eleven Corp. and moving much of its non-convenience business to a new holding company.
Air Canada pilots ratify four-year labour deal that includes 42% raise
Air Canada’s pilots have approved a collective agreement that provides raises of 42 per cent over four years, making them the country’s highest-paid flight crews, Eric Atkins reports. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the carrier’s 5,200 pilots, said that 67 per cent of its members approved the contract, with 99 per cent voting. The pilots will receive a 26-per-cent raise retroactive to September, 2023, when the previous contact expired, and then 4-per-cent annual raises in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The contract replaces the previous 10-year agreement that included annual raises of 2 per cent.
Geoffrey Hinton, who warned of AI’s dangers, co-wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Canada has a new Nobel laureate. Geoffrey Hinton, a University of Toronto computer scientist known as one of the “godfathers” of artificial intelligence, has been named a co-recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics alongside John Hopfield, 91, professor emeritus at Princeton University. His work on neural networks laid the foundations for a revolution in AI and he has since been vocal about the technology’s dangers. Dr. Hinton ended his 10-year stint at Google in 2023 so that he could speak freely about the potential dangers of AI. “I want to emphasize that AI is going to do tremendous good... in areas like health care, it’s going to be amazing. That’s why its development is never going to be stopped. The real question is, can we keep it safe?” Dr. Hinton told Ivan Semeniuk in an interview after learning of his Nobel win.
Take our business quiz for the week of Oct. 11
c. US$47-billion. Couche-Tard is now offering about US$47-billion for Seven and i Holdings Co., parent of the convenience store giant. However, Seven and i has rebuffed the Canadian offer and announced several moves that it says will boost shareholder value without the need for new management. The proposed deal is seen as a key indicator of how open the traditionally closed Japan stock market is to foreign takeovers.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.