Why is Canada investigating Elon Musk’s Grok AI bot? Take our business and investment news quiz for the week ending January 16th

a. Prices on the value menu have been lowered to attract cash-strapped customers. When McDonald’s lowers its prices, it shows that the economy is under pressure. The company announced this week that the MacValue meal set now costs $5 before tax, down from the previous price of $5.99. Annemarie Switink, CEO of McDonald’s Canada, said the cuts reflect financial stress on households.

d. They sank and sank. If you know the landlord, hug her. Canadian asking rents in December fell 2.3% year over year to an average of $2,060, according to a report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation. December was the 15th consecutive month in which rents decreased.

c. Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. During a visit to a Ford plant in Michigan, Trump said the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal was “irrelevant” to him. His blunt dismissal of the USMCA underscores his cold feeling toward free trade agreements negotiated and signed during his first term and scheduled for renegotiation in the coming months. Don’t expect negotiations to go smoothly.

A, B, C. Okay, okay, Trump is not attending the Super Bowl, at least for now. But he’s also been busy making headlines elsewhere.

c. Fourth. Alphabet becomes the fourth company within the group of mega-cap tech giants to reach the $4 trillion level. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple led the way. To put this into perspective, the market value of all companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Toronto Venture Exchange is less than $4 trillion.

a. Rio Tinto and Glencore. Rio Tinto is poised to become the world’s largest mining company and by far the biggest player in Canada’s critical minerals sector by acquiring rival Glencore for more than $70 billion.

b. United Arab Emirates. The national bank is expanding into Dubai as Ottawa looks to expand trade between Canada and the UAE.

d. declared bankruptcy. Saks Global has filed for bankruptcy protection in one of the largest retail bankruptcies since the pandemic. The luxury goods giant was separated from Hudson’s Bay Co. a little more than a year ago, weeks before Canada’s oldest retailer began filing for bankruptcy.

b. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Macklem came to his defense in the United States as he faces a criminal investigation from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Mr. Trump’s attacks on the independence of the U.S. central bank have spooked markets and threatened to push bond yields higher.

d. Creating sexualized images of women. xAI says it has imposed restrictions on all users of its Grok AI chatbot that limit how images can be edited. The AI ​​purveyor came under fire after its chatbot generated hyper-realistic images of women wearing tiny bikinis, in humiliating poses, and covered in bruises. In some cases, minors were digitally stripped down to their swimsuits. Canada’s privacy watchdog launched an investigation into the report and xAI on Thursday.

b. battery. Legault has offered to help finance a battery cell giant factory backed by Sweden’s Northvolt AB. The plant, the largest private project in the state’s history, was a key element of Mr. Legault’s strategy to make the state a global hub for electric vehicle battery production. But Northvolt went bankrupt last year, costing Quebec $270 million on the business.

c. Bombardier. is enjoying strong demand for luxury private jets. The new facility will support the company’s existing product line, which also includes aircraft platforms used in the defense sector.