Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
The spectacular rise and tragic fall of George Gosbee: When his best friend needed help, George Gosbee didn’t hesitate. He had convinced Marshall Abbott to join him on a skiing expedition to the South Pole, and now Abbott was on the brink of collapse. He was dehydrated and his heart was racing. It was all he could do to stay upright at 3,000 metres above sea level, let alone haul a sled packed with supplies. ROB Magazine (Kelly Cryderman and Jeffrey Jones, for subscribers)
Scotiabank earnings and commentary: Scotiabank’s CEO believes this week’s breakthrough in trade talks between the United States and Mexico is positive for the bank as it relieves some of the lingering uncertainty about the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “We look forward to the next piece of NAFTA being solved, hopefully in a number of weeks, with Canada’s inclusion,” chief executive Brian Porter said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters after the bank’s third-quarter results were released. Story
BMO earnings: Bank of Montreal outshone rival Bank of Nova Scotia on Tuesday, posting third-quarter earnings that came in ahead of market expectations, helped by growth in the United States. Shares in Scotiabank, down 5 per cent since the start of the year, were 1.8-per-cent lower at 1 p.m. EDT. Shares in BMO, up 5 per cent so far this year, were down 0.25 per cent, with the broader market for Canadian banks 0.5-per-cent lower. Story
Venture Capital: Canadian venture-capital financing is off to a strong start in 2018, buoyed by strength at all stages of the funding cycle, as VC veterans point to continued signs of maturation in the domestic market. Over the first half of the year, Canada saw five “megadeals” in excess of $50-million, the most since at least 2013. Story (Josh O’Kane, for subscribers)
Wealth management: Can you imagine a world in which mutual-fund managers pay investors an annual fee – rather than the other way around? That may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. Opinion (Lisa Kramer, for subscribers)
MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Digital payments: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has acquired a 25 billion rupees (US$356 million) stake in the parent of digital payments company Paytm, a source said, its first investment in an Indian startup as it moves into the financial payments sector. Story
Regulation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Tuesday that it charged Moody’s Investor Service with failing to clearly define and consistently apply credit-rating symbols in a first-ever ratings-related enforcement action by the regulator. Story
Buyback and closing date: Thomson Reuters Corp. on Tuesday launched a US$9-billion share buyback, sending its shares higher, and said it would complete the sale of a majority stake in its Financial & Risk unit to Blackstone Group LP on Oct. 1. Story (for subscribers)
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