Manitoba Ag Days takes flight with focus on drone tech advancements

Manitoba Ag Days kicked off its annual event on Tuesday with a strong spotlight on innovation as the large-scale drones showcased on the trade show floor drew plenty of attention.

New venture studio seeks to help support early-stage founders, develop Manitoba’s startup ecosystem

Manitoba entrepreneurs just getting their start have a new resource to turn to.

Launch Coworking Space and ProductStak announced on Monday the launch of Ignition, a venture studio based in Winnipeg designed to support early-stage startups.

Whereas an incubator or accelerator gives startups strategic advice and guidance and mentorship, Ignition will work closely with founders to provide hands-on execution support, strategic guidance and structured accountability.

Ignition was created to address a gap Launch Coworking and ProductStak leaders see in the Winnipeg and Manitoba startup ecosystem, said Jason Abbott, founder and CEO of Launch Coworking.

Trump backs down on Greenland and cancels tariff threat after NATO agrees to future Arctic deal

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland, pulling a dramatic reversal shortly after insisting he wanted to get the island "including right, title and ownership.”

In a post on his social media site, Trump said he had agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security, potentially defusing tension that had far-reaching geopolitical implications.

He said “additional discussions" on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome missile defense program, a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space.

Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out. But one idea NATO members have discussed as part of a compromise with Trump was that Denmark and the alliance would work with the U.S. to build more U.S. military bases on Greenland.

Marineland now seeking permits to ship remaining belugas to U.S.: sources

TORONTO - Marineland has presented a plan to the federal government to ship the last remaining captive whales and dolphins in Canada to several institutions in the United States, The Canadian Press has learned.

But the theme park also gave Ottawa an imminent deadline to issue export permits or it will proceed with its backup plan to kill 30 belugas and four dolphins, said several sources with Marineland who added that a euthanasia plan for the animals has been prepared.

The sources were granted anonymity because they are not allowed to speak publicly about the ongoing situation at the shuttered Niagara Falls, Ont., attraction.

Marineland confirmed in a statement to The Canadian Press that it presented "a definitive and urgent rescue solution for the whales" directly to Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson on Wednesday, but it did not provide details.

Verbatim: Carney’s speech to the World Economic Forum

DAVOS - Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech at World Economic Forum that is garnering attention around world. Here is the full text of his speech:

Thank you very much, Larry. I'm going to start in French, and then I'll switch back to English.

[Translated from French]

Thank you, Larry. It is both a pleasure, and a duty, to be with you tonight in this pivotal moment that Canada and the world (is) going through.

Concessions could help Canada keep lower tariffs in trade deal review: strategist

TORONTO - The review of North America’s free trade agreement will play a large part in determining the trajectory of the Canadian economy, as one strategist says he is optimistic that certain concessions could help achieve a positive outcome. 

Ashish Dewan, a senior investment strategist at Vanguard, said the Canadian economy is still significantly reliant on U.S. trade despite attempts to diversify its trading partners.

He said Canada currently has a “trade advantage,” due to a lower effective tariff rate compared with other nations, sitting around six per cent compared with about 16 to 19 per cent faced by other nations. 

“What's really having a negative impact on the Canadian economy are those Section 232 sectoral tariffs,” Dewan said. 

The Latest: Trump says a Greenland deal ‘framework’ is reached and cancels tariff threat

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is dropping his threat to impose tariffs on several European countries, citing what he described as a new framework with NATO on Arctic security. The abrupt about-face comes shortly after he told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the U.S. would not use force to pursue control of Greenland.

Asked how long the deal will last, Trump was clear it’s long term. “It’s a deal that’s forever,” he said. “It’s what’s called an infinite deal.”

In his earlier speech, Trump reaffirmed his ambition to secure “right, title and ownership” of Greenland and urged NATO allies not to stand in the way, warning that refusals would carry consequences for the alliance.

Trump's address at the annual meeting of the elite in Switzerland tried to focus on his efforts to tame inflation and spur the economy back home. But his more than 70-minute address focused more on his gripes with other countries.

Inflation fears are high for most Americans. But a new poll shows one group is particularly worried

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anxiety about costs and affordability is particularly high among Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, even at a moment when economic stress is widespread, according to a new poll.

About half of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults said they wanted the government to prioritize addressing the high cost of living and inflation, according to the survey from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted in early December. In comparison, a December AP-NORC poll found that about one-third of U.S. adults overall rated inflation and financial worries as the most pressing problems.

The findings indicate that this small but fast-growing group is not convinced by President Donald Trump's attempts to tamp down worries about inflation and defend his tariffs. Even when considering partisanship, AAPI Democrats and Independents — and even AAPI Republicans — are at least slightly more likely than those groups overall to mention inflation and costs. Concern about costs has risen among AAPI adults since last year, when about 4 in 10 AAPI adults said they wanted the government to focus on this issue.

Like Americans overall, AAPI adults have also become more focused on health care issues over the past year.

Asian shares rise, tracking Wall Street gains as Trump backs down on Greenland

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back from imposing tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland and ruled out using military force to take control of the territory.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% on Thursday, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 53,760.85, with technology stocks among those leading the gain. SoftBank Group jumped 11% and chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 3.7%.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 2% to 5,008.08, crossing the 5,000 mark for the first time after hitting records earlier this month. Technology-related stocks drove the rally. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 3.3%, and chipmaker SK Hynix was up 2.3%.