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The Bay Street sign is pictured in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.MARK BLINCH/Reuters

Here are the top reads from the week. Have a great weekend,

CPPIB results: Strong public equity markets underpinned investment gains in the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's third-quarter results. But market tumult over the past few weeks has the pension fund focused on the long term. Story (Jacqueline Nelson)

Online retail investors: Royal Bank of Canada is once again in the hot seat with investors after its online brokerage platform – RBC Direct Investing – experienced technical difficulties that prevented clients from making trades just as markets were plummeting and the Dow index headed toward a loss of more than 1,000 points. Story (Clare O'Hara)

Disclosure: Cannabis companies that do business in the United States can keep listing, trading and clearing their shares in Canada, avoiding the worst-case scenario that could have seen them banned outright. Story (Christina Pellegrini, for subscribers)

Street moves: Veteran BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. banker Egizio Bianchini is joining the senior management team and board of directors of international mining company Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Story (Niall McGee, for subscribers)

Regulation: British Columbia's securities watchdog says it doesn't consider the tokens underlying the collectible, blockchain-based virtual cats created by CryptoKitties to be securities. Story (Alexandra Posadzki, for subscribers)

Pot PE: Publicly traded cannabis companies are not the only ones attracting big money from investors – private firms are getting in on the action, too. Tilray Inc., a privately owned licensed producer (LP) in Nanaimo, B.C., announced Thursday that it has raised $60-million to expand its growing capacity in Canada and Europe and to push its brand of medical cannabis products into a handful of new countries. Story (Christina Pellegrini, for subscribers)

Cashing in: A deal-making frenzy in the nascent cannabis industry is giving Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., one of Canada's largest independent investment banks, a significant boost after it struggled for the better part of a decade. Story (Tim Kiladze)

Private equity: Stephen Bronfman's Claridge Inc. is hungry for more food and beverage deals after selling frozen meal business Les Plats du Chef last summer, its last remaining holding in the sector. Story (Nicolas Van Praet, for subscribers)

Startup financing: One of Canada's most successful tech entrepreneurs, Mike Serbinis, is scaling back plans to raise US$100-million in venture financing this year for his latest startup, League Inc. He says the reason is the company, which is aiming to shake up the employee benefits market, is doing much better than expected. Story (Sean Silcoff, for subscribers)

Startup fund: The Toronto startup that just last week named long-time media executive Kirstine Stewart as its president is launching a venture-studio program, aiming to raise $100-million to connect early-stage entrepreneurs with legacy corporations. Story (Josh O'Kane)

Volatility instruments: Last year, Steven Hawkins offered the kind of investment you dream of owning: An exchange-traded fund (ETF) that soared by 174.5 per cent as stock markets sailed along serenely. On Monday, that fund was part of a meltdown that took a big bite out of your RRSP. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)

Bad timing: As global markets gyrate, shares of Element Fleet Management Corp., the brainchild of company founder and Bay Street financier Steve Hudson, plummeted 29 per cent in a single day after it announced the departure of its chief executive officer and the loss of a crucial customer. Story (Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)

Big deal explainer: The potential biggest tech merger of all time – between chip maker Broadcom and semi-conductor competitor Qualcomm Inc. – could happen in a matter of weeks amid the battle to power the world's devices. Story (Josh O'Kane)

Canadian venture financing: The Toronto startup that just last week named long-time media executive Kirstine Stewart as its president is launching a venture-studio program, aiming to raise $100-million to connect early-stage entrepreneurs with legacy corporations. Story (Josh O'Kane)

Executives shuffle: A trio of veteran executives at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced plans to depart on Monday as the $328-billion fund manager moves new managers into key roles. Story (Andrew Willis and Jacqueline Nelson, for subscribers)

Bricks and mortar investment: Aurora Cannabis Inc. is making a big wager on recreational marijuana retailing, saying it has struck a eal to acquire a 19.9-per-cent stake in Edmonton-based Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. for $103.5-million in cash, with a plan to increase that to 40 per cent. Story (Christina Pellegrini and Jeffrey Jones, for subscribers)

Money laundering: An Ontario judge swiftly dismissed an unusual request to obtain sensitive financial records made by a group pursuing allegations of money laundering involving an Ottawa real estate firm with family ties to Malaysian officials. Story (James Bradshaw, for subscribers)

IPO filing: U.S. mining company Tacora Resources Inc. has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with a plan to restart a shuttered iron ore mine in Newfoundland and Labrador. Story (Niall McGee)

Rescue investor: Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is preparing to acquire Carillion Canada's core businesses, separating a portion of the company from collapsing U.K. construction giant Carillion PLC. Story (Jacqueline Nelson)

Revamp: After more than a decade of frustration and false starts, Canadian payments processor Interac has succeeded at overhauling its corporate structure in an effort to funnel more money toward developing new ways to pay. Story (James Bradshaw, for subscribers)

FRIDAY DEALS WRAP

Pot consolidation: A U.S. tobacco leaf merchant has acquired majority stakes in a PEI licensed medical marijuana producer and a cannabis company that is developing indoor growing operations in Ontario. Story

Takeovers: Qualcomm Inc warned on Friday it could lose two large clients if it accepted chipmaker Broadcom Ltd's revised US$121-billion buyout offer and said it saw no path to regulatory approval of any deal. Story

IPO temperature: Wide swings in the U.S. stock market has blunted initial public offering (IPO) activity on Wall Street in what was set to be the busiest week for new listings in more than two-and-a-half years. Story

WHAT WE'RE READING ELSEWHERE

Short sellers do good, so leave them alone: Companies and stock exchanges want to make investors disclose short positions. Big mistake. Bloomberg

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 3:23pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
ACB-T
Aurora Cannabis Inc
-7.92%5.93
CF-T
Canaccord Genuity Group Inc
+1.71%8.9
EFN-T
Element Fleet Management Corp
-0.91%21.89
FFH-T
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd
-0.54%1460.1
IVN-T
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd
+2.54%16.16
QCOM-Q
Qualcomm Inc
+0.1%169.3
RY-N
Royal Bank of Canada
+0.48%100.88
RY-T
Royal Bank of Canada
+0.29%136.62
Y-T
Yellow Pages Ltd
-0.3%9.86

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