Consumer prices fell 0.3% last month, the biggest monthly drop in two years. 

What happened: The drop pulled year-over-year inflation in Canada down to 7% from 7.6% *collective sight of relief* and more than a full percentage point below the 8.1% rate seen back in June. 

• Gasoline prices fell 9.6% in August and are on pace to drop another 8% in September, doing their part to drag down the overall inflation rate.
   
• Core inflation (which excludes volatile food and energy prices) slowed to 5.3% year-over-year, a good sign that prices are moderating economy-wide.

What they’re saying: “This is about as good of an inflation report as we can hope for, especially after the strong US figures last week,” BMO’s Benjamin Reitzes wrote in a note. 

• Services inflation, an indicator that the Bank of Canada is monitoring closely, also posted its smallest monthly increase in nine months. 

Yes, but: Before you whip out your “inflation’s over” party hats, central bankers are far from out of the woods, with inflation still nowhere near the target 2% rate.

• Mortgage interest costs surged 2.4% from the month before, the biggest increase since 1981—high interest rates guarantee that number will climb.
   
• Food prices rose to 10.8% year-over-year, also the highest jump seen since 1981 (which we are now being reminded was a very, very bad year).

Bottom line: Inflation remains too damn high, but these numbers are encouraging, and will give markets the leeway to price in a slightly less aggressive rate hike in October. 

Amazon claims it drew a record number of signups for Prime subscriptions over a three-hour period during last week's Thursday Night Football debut broadcast. (CNBC)

Elon Musk said satellite internet provider Starlink would seek an exception to US sanctions to offer services in Iran, to increase information access. (WSJ)

YouTube’s ‘not interested’ button has little impact on viewing recommendations. A study found the algorithm continues to serve up similar videos. (TechCrunch)

Hurricane Fiona is set to enter Canadian waters early Saturday morning, though it’s not certain whether the category three hurricane will make land. (CBC) 

Uber claims that a cyberattack against the company was perpetrated by the group Lapsus$, which made headlines this year after hacking Microsoft and Nvidia. (WSJ) 

Canadian parliament resumed yesterday and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos officially proposed Bill C-31: A dental care plan for low- and middle-income families. (CTV) 

Spotify has launched a long-awaited audiobook feature, a small step toward becoming the be-all for audio and one giant leap toward seriously complicating your Spotify Wrapped. 

Why it matters: Audiobooks account for ~7% of the entire book market, with Amazon’s Audible making up ~40% of sales. Following the trend of Big Tech companies refusing to do just one thing, Spotify is looking to challenge that dominance. 

• By adding books to its existing app, Spotify can target its 188 million subscribers who might have never listened to an audiobook if it meant downloading a totally new app. 
   
• Spotify also presents an exciting opportunity for cross-product synergy, like authors appearing on Spotify podcasts or curating playlists for certain newsletter writers.

What happened: Spotify will now host over 300,000 titles sold on a book-by-book basis from some of the world’s biggest publishers, including Penguin Random House. 

• Down the line, the company may create a ‘freemium’ ad-supported tier, which would massively disrupt current ad-less business practices.

Yes, but: Amazon may have started as an online book store, but book sales are just a drop in the bucket for the company these days. Maybe Jeff Bezos chooses to pick a fight with Spotify, or maybe he focuses attention on the money maker that is Amazon’s cloud services arm. 

We love a house with a name. So quaint! Located in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto, this property is called ‘The Birches’ and was built in 1889 for a wealthy piano magnate—we didn’t steal this from a Wes Anderson movie plot, we swear. 

The redbrick exterior exemplifies Queen Anne Revival architecture (it’s also giving gingerbread house vibes), and the interiors balance the historical whimsy with a chic, modern feel.  

Peep the listing before another piano magnate comes along and scoops it up. 

Whether you’re casually browsing homes or actively planning your next move, Properly is here to help.

Russian-installed leaders in the occupied Eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia announced plans for referendums to officially join Russia.

What happened: The provinces (accounting for 15% of Ukraine’s land) will vote between September 23-27 in what is widely seen as a coordinated annexation effort by the Kremlin. 

• In 2014, Russia staged a similar referendum in Crimea, which Western nations have unilaterally recognized as illegal and fraudulent, before declaring it a part of Russia. 

As Russia struggles to hold ground against successful Ukrainian counteroffensives, sources say Putin’s aides have urged him to follow the playbook of 2014. 

Why it matters: Though many world leaders have spoken out against recognizing the results of these referendums, from the Kremlin’s POV, they will give Russia the right to defend the lands by any means necessary—including military and nuclear force. 

• It could complicate the flow of military aid from NATO. Currently, Western allies have supplied weapons to Ukraine on the grounds that nothing is fired on Russian territory.
   
• Though this does not apply to territories viewed as unlawfully annexed (like Crimea), the threat signals the potential for a major escalation and won’t be taken lightly.

Bottom line: With the referendums essentially guaranteed to pass, Ukrainian officials have said they will “never recognize” them, setting the stage for a next chapter of war.

🚣 $3,200. Price (in USD) for Peleton’s rowing machine out in December. To make up the money they’ve lost this year they just have to sell *does quick mental math* a lot. 

💨 90. Projects that sell carbon credits set to join Salesforce’s new carbon credit marketplace, as demand for them surges while companies try to meet net-zero goals. 

💰 3.65%. China’s one-year lending rate, which went unchanged after a rate fixing meeting. China has avoided hopping on the rate hike train to appease investors. 

🌾 $2.6 million. The total cost of the “Alberta is Calling” campaign, the not-at-all subtle effort to attract highly skilled workers from Toronto and Vancouver to the province.

• AI image generator DALL-E 2 can now edit human faces… what could possibly go wrong?
   
• Why adaptability is the number one soft skill you should master to excel at work.
   
• Pop those champagne bottles in celebration! Wild Wonder has been named Dulux Paint’s Colour of the Year.
   
• Watch: How to make a foot-long taco dog.
   
• Four business-building tips from a Goldman Sachs banker turned startup whiz.
   
• Long read: Rediscovering the lost art of stone skipping. 

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