Canadian Pantyhose Maker Furloughs 40% of Staff on Trade-War Woes
The threat of US tariffs has caused a Montreal-based women's clothing maker to place more than a third of its workers on leave.
SRTX is putting 40% of its 350 employees and contractors on temporary layoff, Chief Executive Officer Katherine Homuth said in a statement. The company has 85% of its sales in the US and has invested 'tens of millions' in Canadian factories, she said.
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Yahoo
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Quebecers can wait years to get into co-op housing. So why isn't there more?
Relics of a long life are scattered throughout Dimitri Roussopoulos's 19th-century home. The 88-year-old has lived in the two-storey townhouse since 1972, where he and three other residents together pay less than $1,000 a month. "I often travel and people say, 'where do you get the money for travelling?' I say, 'well, I don't have to pay a mortgage,'" he says. Roussopoulos is one of the founders of Canada's largest housing co-operative development, the Milton Park Community, in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. The network spans six square blocks, with 616 housing units, 146 residential buildings and two commercial buildings. Since co-op members own the property, no one has to worry about being evicted or the building being sold — as long as they follow the rules. "I have a sense of ownership, I have a sense of security," says Roussopoulos. "I feel my personality enriched. I feel healthier in every way, physically and mentally." According to the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF), forms of social housing, including co-ops, make up less than four per cent of Canada's housing stock. It can also take years for a co-op housing unit to become available. In Quebec, wait times can range from one to two years, according to the Confédération québécoise des coopératives d'habitation (CQCH). How do co-ops work? In a housing co-op, members are co-owners and vote on how the building is managed. Generally, housing co-ops are divided into two categories: non-profit and equity co-ops. In the latter, you buy a share of a building, which can gain value over time. Non-profit co-ops are much more common in Canada. In those, you don't build equity — instead, you pay a monthly fee that covers building expenses and maintenance. When you leave, your unit goes to someone else. That means residents can pay significantly under market rate for housing — depending on the city, province and structure of the co-op. WATCH | How does a housing co-op work?: CHF Canada says there are about 95,000 co-op housing units in Canada, most of which were developed two generations ago. "In the 1970s and 80s there was robust federal and provincial investment in new co-operative housing supply," explains Tim Ross, executive director of CHF Canada. "That investment slowed down due to policy decisions by governments in the 80s and 90s, to first cut and then eliminate social housing funding." More government funding Different levels of government have scaled up funding for co-op housing in recent years. Last year, the federal government launched the Co-op Housing Development Program, setting aside $1.5 billion in contributions and loans to build and expand co-ops. In a statement, a spokesperson for Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada says the government "recognizes the essential role that non-market housing, including co-operative housing, plays in fulfilling many Canadians' housing needs." It adds that low-cost loans and forgivable loans for new and existing co-op units are available through the Affordable Housing Fund. Quebec's Housing Ministry also says housing co-ops "are an important model in Quebec's housing supply ecosystem." In a statement, a ministry spokesperson said funds are available through a variety of programs, including the Quebec Affordable Housing Program. Last year, the City of Montreal announced it would sell its land — usually vacant lots or parking lots — at a break-even price if it is being used to build off-market housing. Quebec's CQCH says it's a good start, but a far cry from government investments in the 70s and 80s. General director Sandra Turgeon says that if governments are serious about developing this kind of housing, they'll have to provide a lot more funding long term. She adds that government programs can be tough to navigate and tend to favour long-established co-ops over new ones. "The co-op needs to have experience," she says. "You have to already be big to get bigger." Hurdles to starting new housing co-ops Professor Avi Friedman heads McGill University's affordable homes research group. He says starting a new co-op can be time-consuming and complicated. The process starts with establishing a co-op entity and acquiring funding. "A group of people need to get together and if they build their own property, they need to hire to find a site and to buy the site, get permits to build and so on. These are processes that usually are very cumbersome and long," he says. The CQCH adds that residents won't save as much in newly established co-ops as ones established years ago. Turgeon says residents in new co-ops will pay closer to the current market rate, minus whatever government funding is available. She argues the process is still worth it. "We work for the future. It's a little bit expensive now, but it will stay at the same price in future years and your income will increase," she says. Ross believes the best approach is to scale up existing housing co-ops, rather than starting new organizations altogether. "They have a track record and a balance sheet from which to work with, so that does create a more advantageous situation when it comes to new development," he says. Not for everyone Friedman says that the democratic nature of a co-op isn't something everyone will find appealing. "We are individualistic in nature," he explains. "People want to own their own property, to be suburban. Once they move in, there can be issues with getting along, how to share things and so on." Roussopoulos admits that co-op members may butt heads at times, but the sense of community makes it all worth it. "People talk to each other. They know each other on a first-name basis and that creates a whole atmosphere where you feel great comfort."
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Uber taps AI firm Wayve to pilot fully driverless rides in the UK
Uber on Tuesday announced it's partnered with self-driving car technology firm Wayve to launch trials of fully autonomous rides in the U.K. The ride-hailing app said the pilot would be the first of its kind for the company, as it allow users to take Uber rides without a safety driver present — a standard of autonomous driving described by the industry as "Level 4." Self-driving vehicles have become a common sight in San Francisco, where Google's autonomous driving venture Waymo offers a commercial ride-hailing service with its driverless cars. However, other global players are racing to roll out so-called "robotaxi" services of their own. Andrew MacDonald, president and chief operating officer of Uber, said the partnership with Wayve would move the company a step closer toward its vision "to make autonomy a safe and reliable option for riders everywhere." "This is a defining moment for UK autonomy," Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall said in a statement. "With Uber and a global OEM partner, we're preparing to put our AI Driver technology into real service on the streets of London." Uber said it was able to launch the pilot in the U.K. thanks to an "accelerated framework" for self-driving commercial pilots that's being introduced by the U.K.'s Department of Transport. Uber and Wayve said they would work closely with the government and Transport for London — which is the main authority overseeing transport in the U.K. capital — on regulatory approvals and permissions prior to launching the trials. Backed by SoftBank, Wayve is a London-based startup that develops software to enable self-driving vehicles. Its platform uses artificial intelligence to allow cars to assess their surroundings and it's designed to be applicable in any environment. Last year, the U.K. passed its Autonomous Vehicles Act into law, which the government at the time said would pave the way for self-driving vehicles to arrive on British roads by 2026.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
2 Brilliant High-Yield Energy Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term
The energy sector is known for being volatile, though there's one industry segment that bucks the trend. Enterprise Products Partners has a lofty 6.8% yield and decades of annual distribution increases behind it. Enbridge has a 5.9% yield and decades of annual dividend increases behind it. 10 stocks we like better than Enterprise Products Partners › There is one key feature that all investors need to know about the energy sector: The commodity-driven sector can be very volatile. Or, at least, most of it can. There's one niche that actually has a pretty consistent history of reliability, particularly with regard to dividend stocks. This is why even conservative dividend investors will likely find Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) attractive high-yield energy stocks to buy. Here's what you need to know. The energy sector is usually broken down into three subsegments. There is the upstream, which produces oil and natural gas. There is the midstream, which transports oil, natural gas, and the products into which they get turned. And there is the downstream, which processes oil and natural gas into other products, like chemicals and gasoline. The revenues in the upstream are entirely dependent on volatile oil and natural gas commodity prices. There's a similar dynamic in the downstream, since many of the products produced are commodities. However, there's another level of complexity here on the cost side, since oil and natural gas are key inputs. The sole oddity is the midstream, which normally just charges fees for moving commodities from one place to another. The up-front costs to build midstream assets, like pipelines, is fairly large. But once built, the toll-taker model employed generally produces reliable cash flows. Demand for oil and natural gas is more important than the price of oil and natural gas. And since energy is so vital to modern society, demand tends to remain robust even when oil prices are low. Enterprise and Enbridge are both midstream businesses. Just how reliable are Enterprise and Enbridge as dividend stocks? Enterprise, which is a master limited partnership (MLP), has increased its distribution for 26 consecutive years. Enbridge, a Canadian company, has increased its dividend annually for three decades. These are market-proven histories, noting that the energy sector has gone through multiple downturns over the past quarter-century. Right now, Enterprise is offering a distribution yield of 6.8%, while Enbridge has a dividend yield of around 5.9%. Both are well above the market and the broader energy industry. However, those lofty yields will likely make up the lion's share of return here. Slow and steady growth is the norm, but dividend investors probably won't find that trade-off too upsetting. While similar, Enterprise and Enbridge are not perfectly interchangeable. As noted, Enterprise is an MLP, a type of corporate structure that comes with some tax complications (notably having to deal with a K-1 statement on April 15). Enbridge, meanwhile, is Canadian, so its dividend is paid in Canadian dollars (what U.S. investors collect will change with exchange rates), and investors will have to pay Canadian taxes on the dividend (a portion of that can be claimed back come April 15). That said, Enterprise is also more focused on oil and natural gas assets than Enbridge. In fact, Enbridge's specific goal is to adjust its business along with the world's energy needs. So it has been increasingly shifting toward natural gas, including buying natural gas utilities, and it has a small, but growing, clean energy business. Enbridge is probably the more conservative of these two midstream choices. The big theme here, however, is that Enterprise and Enbridge are high-yield investments with reliable businesses that can pay you for years into the future. They aren't the kind of stocks you buy and sell frequently; they are the kind you buy and hold for the long term. That way, you benefit from the slow and steady growth of the dividend, as these reliable income investments keep pumping out cash from what is otherwise a highly volatile industry. If you are looking to boost your investment income in June, Enterprise and Enbridge should be on your list of options. Before you buy stock in Enterprise Products Partners, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Enterprise Products Partners wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Enbridge. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Brilliant High-Yield Energy Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term was originally published by The Motley Fool
