Business

The Contra puzzle has no firm solution, but several creative options, says the Victoria toymaker that invented it. The puzzle is set to launch Jan. 26. (Courtesy of Aroundsquare)

Victoria toymaker’s puzzle with no solution offers ‘joy of open-ended building’

‘Because they can fit together in any arrangement there’s no frustration’

 

The Victoria-based Pony Communications team is passionate about what it does, even when working on a space toilet campaign. (Courtesy Pony Communications)

Space toilet for NASA: Victoria firm clinches award for unique campaign

Founder adamant team spirit earned Pony Communications an Inc. business award

 

Frank Pecorelli uses the AutoBid60 app he created to help make car selling and buying easy. (1/2) (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Saanich man creates app for car sellers to get better value on trade-ins

AutoBid60 connects sellers with buyers looking for unique features in a vehicle

 

Erinn Pinkerton is the recipient of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce 2024 Award of Distinction. (Courtesy Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce)

Chamber award honours ‘titan’ in Greater Victoria’s business community

First female president, CEO of BC Transit earns 2024 Award of Distinction

Erinn Pinkerton is the recipient of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce 2024 Award of Distinction. (Courtesy Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce)
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns is one of the Island MPs asking Ottawa to extend the CEBA loan repayment deadline. Photo Youtube

North Island MPs ask for CEBA loan extension for local businesses

COVID-19 loan repayment deadline set for Jan. 18

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns is one of the Island MPs asking Ottawa to extend the CEBA loan repayment deadline. Photo Youtube
Canadian shippers are starting to feel the strain of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, as boats reach the Port of Halifax more than a week late and container rates soar. People watch as a vessel from the global shipping container company MSC departs Halifax Harbour in Halifax on Tuesday, December 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Tremors of Red Sea conflict start to shake Canada, with dozens of ships delayed

Ships running between a day and two weeks behind as fighting continues in transportation corridor

Canadian shippers are starting to feel the strain of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, as boats reach the Port of Halifax more than a week late and container rates soar. People watch as a vessel from the global shipping container company MSC departs Halifax Harbour in Halifax on Tuesday, December 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Economists are forecasting Canada’s inflation rate likely ticked up last month, but that isn’t expected to set off alarm bells as long as underlying price pressures ease. Motorists fuel up vehicles at a Shell gas station in Vancouver, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Economists expect December inflation went up, trend still points to slowdown

Prices still rising, but at slower rate, say experts

Economists are forecasting Canada’s inflation rate likely ticked up last month, but that isn’t expected to set off alarm bells as long as underlying price pressures ease. Motorists fuel up vehicles at a Shell gas station in Vancouver, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Guitar maker Nicolas Delisle poses at the Mile End Guitar Co-op in Montreal, Sunday, January 7, 2024. Delisle, a luthier by trade makes all his guitars by hand and for some uses century-old recycled wood. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Montreal man turns reclaimed wood from barns and buildings into custom guitars

Nicolas Delisle says each finished piece is full of history

Guitar maker Nicolas Delisle poses at the Mile End Guitar Co-op in Montreal, Sunday, January 7, 2024. Delisle, a luthier by trade makes all his guitars by hand and for some uses century-old recycled wood. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The sun sets on Riot Brewing Co.’s final day Wednesday. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Riot Brewing Co. closure a product of the times

Hard for small businesses to make a go of it with rising costs and debt-ridden consumers

The sun sets on Riot Brewing Co.’s final day Wednesday. (Photo by Don Bodger)
(Black Press Media Creative)

Two companies will attempt the first US moon landings since the Apollo missions a half-century ago

China and India scored moon landings, while Russia, Japan and Israel ended…

(Black Press Media Creative)
Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9 which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a part of the fuselage broke off mid-flight on Friday, is parked at a maintenance hanger in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

What to know about the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet that suffered a blowout

An emergency landing by an Alaska Airlines jetliner has prompted U.S. federal…

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9 which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a part of the fuselage broke off mid-flight on Friday, is parked at a maintenance hanger in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
A Japanese news outlet is reporting that Honda Motor Co. Ltd. could invest upwards of $18.4 billion in an electric vehicle plant in Canada. People walk near the logo of Honda Motor Company at a showroom in Tokyo, Feb. 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eugene Hoshiko

Honda considering $18.4B EV and battery plant in Canada: media report

Potential investment decision expected by the end of the year, according to Japanese news reports

A Japanese news outlet is reporting that Honda Motor Co. Ltd. could invest upwards of $18.4 billion in an electric vehicle plant in Canada. People walk near the logo of Honda Motor Company at a showroom in Tokyo, Feb. 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eugene Hoshiko
A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother was put on the wrong plane. When the grandmother, up on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 at the airport in Fort Myers to greet her grandson who was flying for the first time from Philadelphia, she was told he wasn’t on the Spirit Airlines flight. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)

A 6-year-old boy traveling alone for Christmas was put on the wrong Spirit flight

A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday…

A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport on May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother was put on the wrong plane. When the grandmother, up on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 at the airport in Fort Myers to greet her grandson who was flying for the first time from Philadelphia, she was told he wasn’t on the Spirit Airlines flight. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
<div>Streaming television changed how Canadians watch their favourite shows, but over the past year, prices have risen at nearly all of the major subscription services. This is the NETFLIX screen on a television in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Gene J. Puskar</div>

Rising prices, shrinking libraries: How streaming TV is shaking down in Canada

Prices rose in Canada by an average of 12 per cent per year in 2022 and 2023

<div>Streaming television changed how Canadians watch their favourite shows, but over the past year, prices have risen at nearly all of the major subscription services. This is the NETFLIX screen on a television in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Gene J. Puskar</div>
When We Eat Manufacturing Ltd. in Pitt Meadows recently received nearly $625,000 from the B.C. government to help expand production and transition to a net-zero facility. (When We Eat/Special to The News)

B.C. food manufacturers receive $2 million from province

The money is expected to create 125 new jobs

When We Eat Manufacturing Ltd. in Pitt Meadows recently received nearly $625,000 from the B.C. government to help expand production and transition to a net-zero facility. (When We Eat/Special to The News)
Amazon logo on the facade of one of their office buildings. Dreamstime | TNS

Good news for late holiday shoppers: Retailers are improving their delivery speeds

Haven’t ordered any of your holiday gifts yet? Well, you might find…

Amazon logo on the facade of one of their office buildings. Dreamstime | TNS
Jackie Rhind pitched to the Dragons on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. (Dragons’ Den)

Enter the Den: Revelstoke business pitches to the Dragons

The episode will be shown Jan. 4 on CBC

Jackie Rhind pitched to the Dragons on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. (Dragons’ Den)
FILE - Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, poses for a photo at the Pancoast Hotel, Aug. 13, 1941, in Miami, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

Mickey Mouse — with conditions — becomes free for you to use in the New Year

Disney icon set to legally become a public domain figure when it turns 95

FILE - Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, poses for a photo at the Pancoast Hotel, Aug. 13, 1941, in Miami, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo, File)
A cursor moves over Google’s search engine page, in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 28, 2018. Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived. Well, actually, the world’s. On Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023’s top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

What did you Google in 2023? ‘Barbie,’ Israel-Hamas war are among the year’s top internet searches

Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived. Well, actually, the world’s.…

A cursor moves over Google’s search engine page, in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 28, 2018. Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived. Well, actually, the world’s. On Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023’s top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
Canadian wireless companies collectively spent about $2.1 billion on chunks of 5G bandwidth in the federal government’s most recent spectrum auction. A man uses a cell phone to capture images at Federal Hill Park, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Baltimore. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Julio Cortez

Wireless companies’ spectrum gains could have lasting effect on 5G quality, pricing

Canada’s recent spectrum auction awarded telecom companies 4,099 spectrum licences

Canadian wireless companies collectively spent about $2.1 billion on chunks of 5G bandwidth in the federal government’s most recent spectrum auction. A man uses a cell phone to capture images at Federal Hill Park, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Baltimore. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Julio Cortez