Good morning,
Postmedia and Nordstar Capital LP, parent to the Toronto Star, called off merger plans on Monday, with the owner of the Toronto Star citing “financial uncertainty” that came with a proposed marriage to debt-heavy partner Postmedia Network Canada Corp. Postmedia has $288-million in debt, and lost $36.7-million in the first six months of the year, after losing $26.5-million in the same period a year ago.
The two newspaper chains said they were unable to reach agreement on terms of a deal, two weeks after they announced detailed plans to combine the two businesses. Nordstar executives were concerned with Postmedia’s debt structure, even though Postmedia’s lenders were planning to swap the majority of the company’s loans for equity, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The Globe and Mail agreed not to name the source because they are not permitted to discuss the transaction.
In late June, Postmedia and Nordstar said combining forces would help the companies deal with the “existential threat” they face from tech platforms such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and Google owner Alphabet Inc., which are winning an increasing amount of revenues from advertisers. On Monday, Postmedia chief executive officer Andrew MacLeod said: “The need for creative solutions and foundational transformation in our industry remains.”
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 other Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference ahead of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, July 10, 2023.Mindaugas Kulbis/The Associated Press
Turkey agrees to support Sweden’s NATO bid, alliance chief says
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committed to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO, removing one of the final barriers to the country’s membership. Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since last year.
Sweden agreed to help Turkey join the European Union in exchange for Turkey’s help with NATO. Erdogan warned earlier on Monday that he would block Sweden’s attempt to join NATO unless European members of the organization “pave the way” for Turkey to join the world’s biggest trading bloc. Turkey’s joining of the EU has been on hold since 2018.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement Monday after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of a NATO summit in Lithuania. There was no comment from Erdogan. It’s unclear when the Nordic country’s membership might be approved. Previously non-aligned Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined in April following Turkish ratification.
RoseAnne Archibald’s ouster casts shadow over Assembly of First Nations annual meeting
The Assembly of First Nations annual meeting is taking place in Halifax this week, where hundreds of chiefs will gather against a backdrop of controversy.
The upheaval that saw RoseAnne Archibald voted out last month during a special assembly of AFN chiefs, following accusations that she bullied and harassed AFN staff, threatens to draw attention away from a major AFN initiative to overhaul its governing charter and reorient the powers of those regional chiefs.
Khelsilem, who is the chair of the Squamish Nation, is scheduled to unveil a report that calls on the AFN to transfer some of the executive committee’s powers to a new board of directors and create new accountability mechanisms within the organization. Authored by the AFN’s Charter Renewal Committee, the 73-page report entitled ‘Making Us Stronger’ says the group’s charter has fallen behind the times. Compared to the early 1980s, when the AFN formed, the federal government is now far more reliant on policy advice from the organization, which has become the main national advocacy group for First Nations in Canada. But the existing charter doesn’t provide for equal participation from all 634 member First Nations in formulating that advice.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
Also on our radar
Bill C-18: Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Monday that his department has begun drafting regulations governing Bill C-18, the Online News Act, that would set a cap on how much Google and Facebook would have to contribute to Canada’s news industry, addressing Google’s key concern.
The thrill of Kai Tak Airport: Hong Kong International Airport (HGK) is one of the world’s busiest airports, but older Hong Kongers look back fondly on Kai Tak, the airport that existed until July 6, 1998. A book of photography tries to capture what the airport represented for Hong Kong.
Premiers meeting: On the same day as a Toronto shooting that wounded two people, the country’s premiers gathered in Winnipeg for a three-day meeting that will cover a range of issues. Public safety and bail reform, in response to concerns about violence and crime, will be on the agenda.
Trudeau at NATO Summit: It will take another three years for Canada to make good on its commitment to grow a multinational NATO battle group in Latvia to a combat-ready brigade, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed Monday. The two countries have signed a “road map” outlining the process.
Morning markets
World markets await U.S. inflation report: Global shares rose and the U.S. dollar eased on Tuesday ahead of U.S. inflation data later this week that could support a quicker end to Federal Reserve rate hikes. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.41 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 added 0.02 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.04 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.97 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was up at 75.37 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Visit Kyiv and you’ll understand why President Biden must be bolder at this week’s NATO summit
“So when I say, ‘Who lost Ukraine?’ I don’t mean losing the war. I mean losing the peace: a country exhausted, ravaged, traumatized, still robbed of some of its territory, a land in limbo. For this is now Mr. Putin’s brutal, vengeful objective: if he can’t force Ukraine back into the Russian empire, he will try to ruin it.” - Timothy Garton Ash
There are better ways for a government to help journalism
“While Mr. Rodriguez is busy drafting regulations that could assuage Google and Meta, all this drama has sidelined any examination of the government’s flawed logic. By trying to force Google and Meta’s hand, Ottawa is interfering with the free market on the debatable notion that, by rescuing existing media companies from the ravages of the digital revolution, it is saving democracy itself.” - The Editorial Board
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable published July 11, 2023. THERE ARE DAYS WHEN THIS NO LONGER FEELS LIKE THE TORONTO I GREW UP IN.Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
Illustration by Mary Kirkpatrick
I’m not showing up like everyone else – and my clothes make that clear
Personal style is an important vehicle for self expression - something Jenessa Blanchet has always known. But it’s not always easy to embrace clothes that make you feel like you. Blanchet shares what she’s learned about embracing your own authentic style, and makes the case for embracing the unique fashion statements we come across on others.
Moment in time: July 11, 1960
Harper Lee (1926 – 2016), author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, photographed in her New York apartment, July 1960.Ben Martin/Getty Images
To Kill a Mockingbird published
Harper Lee submitted the manuscript of a novel, Go Set a Watchman, to publisher J.B. Lippincott and Company, where an editor told her to rewrite it for $1,000. She rewrote for two years and on this day in 1960, the 34-year-old Lee’s renamed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was published. It was a huge success, eventually selling more than 40 million copies, winning the 1961 Pulitzer Prize, turned into a hit movie starring Gregory Peck, taught in schools and making Ms. Lee millions. The book is narrated through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl, Scout Finch, who watches her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson, a Black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman. It’s set in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s and contains themes of racism, justice and tolerance. (Spoiler alert: Robinson, not surprisingly given the times, is found guilty). The language is representative of the Jim Crow south and contains the N-word 48 times. Because of that word, some school boards ban it. However, it remains a classic of American literature. And the title? It refers to being cruel to the innocent. Says Scout’s father, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Philip King
Read today's horoscopes. Enjoy today's puzzles.
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.