Swimmer Clément Secchi (BCom’22) has become the first McGill University graduate to reach the podium at the Summer Olympics since 2008. The 24-year-old management graduate from Aix-en-Provence, France, earned bronze for his native country on Sunday as part of the men's 4x100 medley relay. A four-time All-Canadian at McGill, the 5-foot-11, 157-pound butterfly specialist was a three-time recipient of the Forbes Trophy as the University's male athlete of the year.

Frédéric Perron (BCom’97) was serving as the Chief Commercial Officer for Vodafone Poland when he was asked to return to Canada to become the new president and CEO of Cogeco, an internet service provider. Although Cogeco’s corporate offices are in Montreal, Perron’s position is based in Burlington, Ontario. That puts him closer to the company’s US customers, some of which are in nearby Ohio. Americans make up about half of Cogeco’s business, and as the US government makes major investments in connectivity, there remains room for growth in the United States.

High levels of inflation have caused a cost-of-living crisis in Canada, and bartering is one way to help keep costs down. Trading goods and services with others also offers a more personal touch. "Some parts of our economy have become overly financialized,” says Robert Nason, Associate Professor of strategy and organization at McGill Desautels. “We need to put a number on everything.

The Government of Canada is exploring ways to increase investments in the country’s pension fund equities, but doing so sacrifices returns, according to The Economist. Over the past decade, Canadian mid and small-cap stocks have returned just 3-4% each year, while U.S. stocks have seen a 13% return annually. Opening infrastructure to investment is another way to encourage pension funds to invest more of their capital domestically.

While some countries contemplate shorter work weeks, Greece is heading in the opposite direction. Seeking to boost economic growth, the country recently passed a law allowing employers to implement a six-day work week, though the change is not mandatory. Greece faced a debt crisis in 2010, and its economy has long been among Europe’s laggards. As a member of the Eurozone, Greece doesn’t make its own monetary policy, explains Jean-Nicolas Reyt, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour.

The rise of e-commerce decimated the business of department store chains, with names like Nordstrom pulling out of Canada altogether. But, department store chain Simons recently announced it is opening two new stores in Toronto. The Quebec City-headquartered retailer has slimmed-down offerings, with no in-store furniture sales or fragrance counters and lots of private label clothing brands.

Over the past few decades, Canada’s big pension funds have piled into direct real estate investments. But, as higher borrowing costs hit property markets, returns have gone negative. Some funds are considering whether they should take a step back and make this type of investment through third-party managers. “You have a few pension funds asking themselves, should I continue to go as direct?” says Associate Professor of Finance Sebastien Betermier in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.