HSBC Holdings PLC bank branch in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario.Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Profits bounced back at HSBC Bank Canada in the second quarter, climbing 39 per cent from a year earlier as the oil and gas sector continues to recover from a rough patch. Story (James Bradshaw)
With online currencies such as bitcoin and ether capturing the imagination of tech-savvy investors, a new Canadian company is looking to give investors exposure to the volatile and fast-moving world of blockchain technology. Story (Mark Rendell)
DAILY DEALS
A U.S. hedge fund is threatening a campaign to remove members of the Hudson's Bay Co. board if the Canadian retailer does not move quickly to sell and redevelop its real estate assets, such as its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan. Story (Rachelle Younglai)
Discovery Communications Inc. agreed to buy Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. for $11.9-billion (U.S.) in a bet that uniting ownership of cable channels such as Animal Planet and HGTV will help the company adapt to a fast-changing television landscape. Story
ELSEWHERE IN FINANCE
The Waldorf Astoria hotel, along with more than $10-billion of Anbang Insurance Group Co.'s other deals, could become symbols of corporate China's rapidly shrinking global ambitions. Story
WHAT WE'RE READING
Opting to raise more funds rather than prioritizing an exit seems to be an increasingly popular route for startups. According to data from the 2Q PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the number of US venture capital investments for every VC-backed exit reached a record high in the first half of 2017–landing at 11.3x. For the 3,917 VC investments completed in 1H, there were just 348 exits. Pitchbook
Canada's top 10 first-half private equity deals had disclosed values of more than $13.4-billion, up 89 per cent from the $7.1-billion invested in the top 10 deals at the same time in 2016. The number is based on PE Hub Canada's list of the largest deals announced in January through June, supplemented by preliminary Thomson Reuters data. PE Hub
How good is Jonathan Ross Goodman at profiting from the pharmaceutical market's inefficiencies? Even as he continues to suffer the effects of extensive brain damage from a near-fatal bicycling accident in 2011, his latest company, Knight Therapeutics Inc., has almost tripled in three years, for a market value of $1.35-billion. Bloomberg
Canada's technology sector, which has long struggled to compete with sunny Silicon Valley, is seizing on the U.S.'s hardening stance on immigration in a bid to lure top talent. Wall Street Journal (subscription)