Sean Ryan and Cathy Wood at their home in Dawson City.Michael Edwards
Each week, Report on Business editors choose five stories that shouldn't be missed. Here are the 'must reads' for the week of Aug. 16, 2010
Toronto condo market hits ‘down’ button
The developer thought it was a brilliant idea: Build a penthouse on top of an existing condo building in a chic Toronto neighbourhood to take advantage of the city's insatiable lust for expensive real estate. For $1.8-million, the new owner could walk into a brand new, 1,800-square-foot condo designed to her specifications. That was the idea, anyway. But the listing in prime Rosedale hit the market in February, just as sales were beginning to slow for real estate of all kinds, and no one was interested in the unit its agent has dubbed "Project Perch."
Eureka moment for stubborn prospector
Gold fever is gripping Yukon for the first time in more than a century following a discovery by a penniless and persistent prospector that was determined to find the source of the original Klondike deposits. Shawn Ryan lived in a tin shack for years before uncovering the so-called White Gold district, not far from the fabled Klondike zones. While his work has yet to result in an operating mine, it has already sparked a record-setting staking rush and led to the multimillion-dollar takeover of a junior gold explorer by a senior producer.
Potash bid tests Canada's takeover rules
BHP Billiton Ltd .'s massive bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is forcing Ottawa to contend with a hot-button issue that went dormant with the credit crunch: how to respond to foreign suitors poised to take over major Canadian corporations. The Harper government, burned by what it believes was the failure of companies such as U.S. Steel and Vale SA to keep promises about Canadian jobs, is warning potential acquirers of Potash Corp. they'll be held to the commitments they make in order to satisfy federal scrutiny of foreign bids.
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When controversy rears its head, sponsors run for cover
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, with her pristine ice-blond coif, trigonometric shoulder pads and celebrity paycheque, is hard to picture anywhere near a Motel 6. But the company seemed to think it was a good fit with the firebrand conservative American radio personality, at least until this week. Motel 6 was just one of a number of companies that advertised with the
Dr. Laura Program, who came under fire after the host uttered the "n-word" on an Aug. 10 broadcast. In the midst of the controversy, on Tuesday night, Dr. Schlessinger announced on the
Larry King Live TV show that after 30 years on air, she would be leaving the radio business at the end of this year.
Pelley brings his vision to Rogers
After overseeing 4,800 hours of Olympics broadcasting last winter, juggling content across television screens, the Internet and the radio, there's little doubt that Keith Pelley is a man of many media.Now, the executive who oversaw the Canadian broadcasting consortium for the Vancouver Olympics will take over as president of Rogers Media, one of the country's largest diversified media groups. The announcement comes just four months after Mr. Pelley was appointed executive vice-president of strategic planning at CTVglobemedia Inc.