(L-R) Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland leave after a NAFTA event in Washington, U.S., Oct.17, 2017.YURI GRIPAS/Reuters
Good evening,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Canada to take hardline on Trump's core demands as NAFTA talks resume
Canadian officials had gone into the fourth round of negotiations fully prepared for the United States to tear up NAFTA. Mexico was in a similar place. When the three sides reconvene in Mexico City for round five this week, Canada will try to seize the last best chance to salvage the deal that governs $1.3-trillion in annual trade – even as it is ready for the possibility talks could still unravel. The Canadian strategy is to give no ground on the bargaining table on the Trump administration's "poison pill" protectionist demands. (for subscribers)
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has spent his life fighting for U.S. economic nationalism, whether it's grain or steel. Meet the man who could decide if NAFTA lives or dies.
For more than 20 years, NAFTA has tied the continent's economy together. We take a deep dive into the trade file and what it could mean for you.
Ride-hailing service Lyft coming to Toronto
Ride-hailing company Lyft is making its first foray outside of the United States and coming to Toronto, the company announced Monday. The company didn't say exactly when the service would begin, but suggested it would be around the holidays.
The Globe's technology reporter Shane Dingman looks at six things you need to know as Lyft makes moves into Canada and what separates it from Uber, a word company executives are reluctant to say.
How Saudi Arabia turned on Lebanon's resigned PM Saad al-Hariri
When Saad al-Hariri arrived in Saudi Arabia he wasn't greeted by princes as would typically greet a prime minister. Instead, his phone was confiscated and he was forced to resign in a statement broadcast by a Saudi-owned TV channel. The move thrust Lebanon back to the forefront of a struggle that is reshaping the Middle East, between the conservative Sunni monarchy of Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite revolutionary Iran.
Toronto's King St. pilot project kicks off with mixed reaction
The pilot project, which launched Sunday along Toronto's King Street, has banned cars from travelling straight through a busy stretch of the downtown road with few exceptions. It aims to give priority to streetcars along the busiest surface transit route in the city. Initial reactions suggest transit passengers are pleased saying it will save them time, but drivers are confused and annoyed. The project will run for one year.
Brookfield bids $14.8-billion for rest of U.S. mall owner GGP
The firm offered $23 a share for the 55 per cent of GGP it doesn't already own as the companies seek to repurpose struggling bricks-and-mortar shopping centres. Brookfield has been focusing on buying and revamping shopping centres to take advantage of the land they occupy in urban areas, said CEO Bruce Flatt last week.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter, a roundup of the important stories of the day and what everyone is talking about that will be delivered to your inbox every weekday around 5 p.m. ET. If you're reading this online, or if someone forwarded this e-mail to you, you can sign up for Evening Update and all Globe newsletters here. Have feedback? Let us know what you think.
MARKET WATCH
Canada's main stock index fell Monday as the energy sector lost ground, falling by more than 1 per cent. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.08 per cent, at 16,026.26, its lowest close since Nov. 3. On Wall Street, U.S. stock indexes rose with strong gains in high-dividend paying sectors that countered sharp losses in General Electric. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08 per cent to 23,439.97, the S&P 500 gained 0.10 per cent to 2,584.86 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1 per cent to 6,757.60.
NEW: We've launched a new Top Business: Evening Edition newsletter providing a summary of the biggest business headlines of the day. Sign up for it and more than a dozen other Globe newsletters here.
WHAT'S TRENDING
Two former rivals, who were both captains of their country's hockey teams, are now proud parents of a baby girl. Caroline Ouellette, Canada's captain at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, and Julie Chu, who captained the Americans from 2011 to 2013, announced the birth of their daughter on social media Monday.
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been named GQ magazine's "Citizen of the Year" for his activism. The former San Francisco 49ers player began kneeling during national anthems last NFL season to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
TALKING POINTS
Taxing marijuana: Start low and go slow
"A carton of 200 cigarettes costs $135.40 in Manitoba, of which $96.14 is taxes. In Quebec, by comparison, a carton costs $88.67, of which $55.68 is taxes. Should we be taxing marijuana to that degree? Some day, perhaps, but at this point the goal is to undermine the black market, and to do so, prices must be competitive." — André Picard
Because it's almost 2018: Inclusivity enhances our excellence
"Researchers from different backgrounds bring their unique experiences, interests, and perspectives to bear. But how can we increase the diversity of Canada's STEM work force, when, for example, only 13 per cent of Canada's practising professional engineers are women? Critically, culture and role models play a significant role in the development of scientific interest." – Allison Sekuler
In Quebec, will the political relics survive?
"There is especially a yearning among the post-Lévesque cohort to transcend the identity politics in which the old parties remain mired. To wit, among Liberal MNAs, Mr. Couillard is under siege for the way he and Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée allowed themselves to be ridiculed by the opposition and the rest of Canada over Bill 62 on religious neutrality, a law that satisfies no one." – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
Researchers have used a nanotechnology plus a gene editing tool to turn off a key cholesterol-related gene in mouse liver cells. It is a step to correcting genes that cause high cholesterol and other liver diseases. The team is now working to identify other liver diseases that may benefit from this approach and refining the approach for use in people.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
'Rebel' of New Brunswick national park fights for expropriated land on borrowed time
In 1976, Jackie Vautour's house was expropriated for a national park in New Brunswick. The land grab uprooted more than 1,000 people. Today, the 88-year-old and his wife are still squatting inside the park in a two-room house. There is no cellphone service, plumbing or hydro. Winters are tough. The couple are hoping to build a more appropriate home, but Parks Canada forbids it. Parks Canada will not forcibly remove the Vantours, but the denial of services leaves them in a perpetual standoff with the government as they wage a fight in the court system to reclaim the land.
Bitcoin investors party like it's 1999
In the past six months, the price of bitcoin has surged roughly 300 per cent, hitting more than $7,000 (U.S.) and bringing the total value of bitcoins in circulation to more than $100-billion. The decentralized digital currency, invented to subvert traditional finance, has gone from libertarian plaything used to buy drugs anonymously to being touted as The Next Big Thing with money managers, bankers and lawyers all wanting in. But, as Alexandra Posadzki reports, it all bears a striking resemblance to the frenzy that gripped internet companies in the late 1990s – just prior to the dot-com crash. (for subscribers)
An ailing Mugabe puts his family first
At 93, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is the world's oldest head of state. He dozes off during meetings, he slurs his words and is physically weak. But he is in control and intends to stay in that position and win another election in a few months even as the economy crumbles and the feuding in his ruling party intensifies. If he succeeds, Mr. Mugabe could install his unpopular wife as the acting president. If he fails to win enough support, the post-Mugabe transition could turn violent.
Robert Rotberg, founding director of Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Intrastate Conflict, looks at why Grace Mugabe's recklessness may spark a deadly presidential succession.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Omair Quadri. If you'd like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.