News of the day: Canadian trade surplus, economic weakness, auto sector survival, AI token expenses, beware tax marketing and more

News of the day: Canadian trade surplus, economic weakness, auto sector survival, AI token expenses, beware tax marketing and more

It’s Tuesday, June 9. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

Canada’s economy posts biggest trade surplus since before Trump’s tariffs

Canada posted a trade surplus for the second consecutive month in April, driven primarily by higher prices for oil and energy.

‘Biggest knock’ against Canada’s trade beat is that it undercuts Carney’s economic pillar, says economist

‘Higher energy prices gave Canada’s trade surplus a big boost, but also masked some of the weaknesses the economy is experiencing, economists say.

Canada’s auto sector will survive trade upheaval with U.S., negotiator says

Canada’s chief trade negotiator with the United States says she believes this country’s auto manufacturing sector will survive the current trade upheaval with its long-time partner.

Why companies are burning through AI tokens and racking up eye-watering bills

Artificial intelligence usage — particularly for the most sophisticated tasks — is growing so fast that businesses are now paying more than ever through the use of tokens, which are the building blocks of data that a large language model reads and produces.

Beware tax marketing, it’s never as good as it seems

Governments have mastered the art of the right pictures and words, but the wrong reality, writes Kim Moody.

Opinion: Our time-killing micro-productivity crisis

Matthew Lau: Enough with all the national strategies and plans!