Are toy stores dying? Why big-box chains are struggling even as toy sales climb

A woman pushes a stroller past a store front that  says toys r us closing sale

In the age of screens, amid reports of retail stores struggling and studies suggesting that all kids want for Christmas are Robux, what does the future hold for the toy industry?

Aritzia to open flagship store at old Nordstrom location in downtown Vancouver

A large fashion boutique with the words 'Aritzia' on it.

Vancouver fashion retailer Aritzia is set to open a 40,000-square-foot flagship store in a space at CF Pacific Centre formerly occupied by Nordstrom.

Stock market recovers some earlier losses while waiting on Nvidia earnings report

A stock trader is shown looking at several computer screens.

Wall Street bounced back from this week’s earlier losses on Wednesday, ahead of the latest earnings report from Nvidia, considered a bellwether for the artificial intelligence sector.

Alberta already has sky-high car insurance rates. Will 120 km/h speed limits send premiums higher?

A semi-truck and a pickup truck are in the ditch as it snows during the night.

Vehicle insurance companies are going to keep a close watch on whether the Alberta government keeps driving forward with a proposal to increase some highway speed limits to 120km/h.

CRTC updates definition of Canadian content, putting limits on AI use

A woman sits on a stage in front of a microphone.

The federal broadcast regulator has released a new definition of Canadian content — and humans, not AI, must maintain creative control in order to qualify.

Canada Post paints bleak financial picture, hints at big job cuts

Extreme closeup of Canada Post mailboxes with logos visible

At its annual public meeting Tuesday, Canada Post revealed that it continues to bleed cash and hinted at big job cuts through attrition.

Facebook owner Meta wins U.S. antitrust case, won’t have to break off Instagram, WhatsApp

A smartphone screen with three apps: (from left to right) the Facebook logo with a small white f inside a blue square; the purple, pink, orange Instagram logo with a white circle inside a white square; the green Whatsapp logo with a white telephone.

Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.

New home construction dropped 17% in October, says CMHC

A roofer works on a housing construction site.

The annual pace of housing starts, also known as new home construction, fell 17 per cent in October compared with September, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said on Tuesday.

Cloudflare outage takes down ChatGPT, X, other internet services

A company logo is pasted on a window with lava lamps seen in the background.

Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare says it has identified an issue that caused outages for the social media platform X, some multiplayer games and ChatGPT.

Annual home sales fall in October as CREA expects lower rates to boost market in 2026

A for sale sign is shown with a house seen in the background.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of residential properties that changed hands in October was lower compared to a year ago, as prices also fell.