Councillors decide to compromise on paid parking on evenings and weekends
There was a sharp debate at city hall over the issue after a report to extend paid parking hours in busy areas met with resistance from business owners.
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National Post
29 minutes ago
- National Post
Moonvalley Hires VFX Trailblazer Ed Ulbrich to Lead Strategic Growth in AI-Powered Entertainment
Article content LOS ANGELES — Moonvalley, an AI research company building foundational AI video models and tools trained exclusively on licensed content, today announced the appointment of visual effects industry veteran Ed Ulbrich as Head of Strategic Growth & Partnerships. Article content Article content In this role, Ulbrich will help shape the company's broader growth strategy while deepening Moonvalley's relationships across studios, brands, agencies, and creative communities. He will also collaborate closely with Moonvalley's studio arm, Asteria Film Co., to accelerate adoption and integration of its technology within professional filmmaking communities and workflows. Article content Ulbrich brings over 30 years of experience driving innovation at the intersection of storytelling, production, and technology. His credits include some of cinema's most ambitious films including Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Titanic. He also produced the sci-fi epic Ender's Game and helped pioneer live digital human performances with the now-iconic 'Tupac Shakur hologram' at Coachella. Article content Most recently, Ulbrich served as Chief Content Officer and President of Production at Metaphysic, where he worked with major studios, streamers, talent, brands, agencies, and labels to integrate generative AI into high-end production and post. Over three decades, he has led innovation in visual effects across film, TV, streaming, advertising, music videos, and live entertainment. Beyond features, he has delivered VFX for more than 500 commercials for global brands, earning honors including the Cannes Lions Titanium Award. He held senior roles at Deluxe and spent two decades at Academy Award-winning Digital Domain—co-founded by James Cameron, Scott Ross, and Stan Winston—where he also served as CEO. Article content The announcement reflects Hollywood's evolving relationship with AI technology. Following industry strikes partly centered on AI concerns, studios are seeking partners who can deliver professional tools while respecting creators' rights. Moonvalley's approach of building models exclusively from licensed content directly addresses these concerns. Article content 'From his pioneering work on 'Benjamin Button' to leading AI adoption and integration at Metaphysic, Ed knows how to turn innovative technology into tools that actually work for filmmakers at scale,' said Naeem Talukdar, Co-Founder and CEO of Moonvalley. 'He knows what it takes to earn the trust of filmmakers and how to bring transformative technology into their workflows. We're thrilled to have someone with his expertise and relationships help us bring this technology to the studios and creators who will define its future.' Article content Ulbrich's appointment follows Moonvalley's launch of Marey, the first high-quality AI video model trained exclusively on licensed content. Named after pioneering cinematographer Etienne-Jules Marey, the model proves that powerful generative AI can be built without exploiting creators' work – something tech giants have claimed is impossible. Article content 'I've spent my career pushing the boundaries of how technology serves storytelling,' said Ulbrich. 'What drew me to Moonvalley is their respect for the craft, their use of clean, licensed data, and their focus on empowering creators without compromise. They're solving the right problems the right way, and that's exactly what the industry needs right now. This is the kind of company that can actually change how films get made, and I'm all in.' Article content Hollywood is at a critical crossroads with generative AI. The technology could slash production costs and democratize high-quality content creation, but adoption has been slow over legal concerns about training data and tools that fall short of professional standards. Moonvalley's clean-data approach and focus on filmmaker needs position it to break through these barriers. Article content About Moonvalley Article content Moonvalley is an AI research company building next-generation models and tools for creative professionals. The company brings together talent from DeepMind, Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and leading entertainment companies, unified around advancing visual intelligence. Through partnerships with film studios, production companies, and brands, Moonvalley is proving that powerful generative AI can be built while respecting artists' and creators' rights. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Globe and Mail
40 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Fixed Rates, Flexible Strategy: How The Infrastructure Capital Bond Income ETF (BNDS) Navigates Today's Complex Waters
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - June 18, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Last year, investor sentiment for benchmark interest rate cuts rose, thanks in large part to actions taken by the Federal Reserve. In September, the central bank cut borrowing costs for the first time in more than four years, opting to lower the rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%. Naturally, the Fed's decision carried an implied trickle-down effect on matters that are critical to consumers, such as mortgages and auto loans. At the same time, a lower rate environment generally spells positive tidings for income-generating funds like the Infrastructure Capital Bond Income ETF (ARCA: BNDS). An exchange-traded fund managed by Infrastructure Capital Advisors – commonly known as InfraCap – the main priority of BNDS is to maximize current income for its stakeholders. Secondarily, the fund seeks to pursue capital appreciation. However, with the trade policies of President Donald Trump and the residual impact of the COVID-19 crisis – most notably the sharply elevated costs of living – the Fed does not appear to be in the mood to reduce the benchmark interest rate. Indeed, the president has vocally expressed frustration with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's wait-and-see approach amid unresolved trade and budget issues. If that wasn't enough, Goldman Sachs analysts warned that higher inflation numbers could sideline the prospect of dovish monetary policy until December. If so, government bonds would theoretically compete with investment vehicles like the BNDS ETF. After all, U.S. Treasuries are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. That's a fancy way of saying risk-free yield. In that case, is there any reason to consider BNDS? A closer look at the underlying architecture reveals an intriguingly relevant picture. Practical Leadership: A Core Attribute Undergirding The BNDS ETF While the BNDS ETF and other income-oriented funds face challenges in the current economic and political environment, it's also worth noting that the Infrastructure Capital fund distinguishes itself from many other competitors with its active management. Unlike passive funds, which merely attempt to replicate the performance of benchmark indices, actively managed vehicles directly navigate the pitfalls that may arise in the market. Some of the potential advantages include the following as part of the strategy sought by the fund: Avoidance of weak credits or downgrade risks. Rotation into undervalued, higher-yielding bonds when conditions shift. Dynamic adjustment of sector and duration exposure. Deployment of options-based overlays to enhance income potential. More importantly, the BNDS ETF is overseen by Infrastructure Capital Founder, CEO and Portfolio Manager Jay D. Hatfield. Leveraging almost three decades of experience in the securities and investment industries, Hatfield commands broad expertise across a range of disciplines. By having intricate knowledge of the ebb and flow of the capital markets, Hatfield helps navigate the BNDS around pitfalls and toward probabilistically viable pathways. It's not just a marketing slogan or pitch. Rather, Hatfield's extensive body of work speaks for itself. In addition to the BNDS ETF, he also manages the Virtus InfraCap US Preferred Stock ETF (ARCA: PFFA), which seeks income, primarily through U.S. preferred securities. But arguably the biggest advantage that Hatfield offers is his acumen as it relates to writing options. Also known as selling options, this process is known as 'writing' because the trader is underwriting the risk that the underlying security will not move in accordance with the debit buyer's wish. By logical deduction, all written options are credit-based strategies because the seller of the options contract receives a premium for the risk acceptance. Subsequently, this premium is known as income, which is expressed in the form of the option's yield. Mathematically, the yield is the premium received divided by the capital at risk or capital required, usually expressed as a percentage over the contract's lifespan. Using options-writing strategies, traders can dramatically boost their income-generating portfolio. So, why don't more traders consider selling options? Primarily, it's because credit-based options suffer from the ever-present threat of tail risk. Initially, credit-based options are enticing because they start from a cash influx position. However, if the trade moves against the credit seller, the underlying yield imposes negative convexity. In simple terms, the credit seller ends up owing money at a non-linear rate the more the trade moves against the credit position. The maximum that can be lost is essentially the inverse of the yield, which can be severe depending on the yield size. Oftentimes, one fully toxic credit spread is enough to derail profits in other transactions. This is why the leadership and exercise of Jay Hatfield is critical to the integrity of the BNDS ETF. Narrowing Credit Spreads: An Underappreciated Market Dynamic Another reason to consider the BNDS ETF despite the high interest rate environment is the potential for the credit spread to narrow. A credit spread is the difference between Treasury yields and corporate bond yields. At the moment, spreads have been widening due to investors pricing in default risk (of corporations) and lingering economic uncertainty. However, the Fed has indicated that it would hold interest rates steady, which subtly indicates confidence in the economy; otherwise, the central bank would be tempted to consider interventionary policies. Moreover, Goldman Sachs analysts – while acknowledging the threat posed by persistent inflation – recently lowered recession odds to around 30%. In response to improving conditions, corporate bond yields may come down due to the reduced risk profile, a circumstance called spread compression. Simultaneously, corporate bond prices may rise due to yields and prices moving inversely. Down the line, the BNDS ETF – which holds a portfolio of corporate bonds – may see capital appreciation, a dynamic which would not impact Treasuries (since there are no spreads in that case to compress). In other words, investors who choose to put their money into Treasuries are dependent on Fed policy. On the flipside, the actively managed BNDS could rise based on a variety of well-researched strategies and methodologies, including spread compression and options writing. A Dynamic Fund For A Constantly Shifting Market With the introduction of new economic policies clashing with lingering challenges, the market environment of 2025 has caught many investors by surprise. Due to the broad uncertainties, a temptation exists to park funds in U.S. Treasuries. However, Infrastructure Capital's income-focused BNDS ETF may offer an intriguing alternative. As an actively managed fund, the BNDS seeks out undervalued and underappreciated opportunities to help stakeholders generate income. As well, through the expertise of Portfolio Manager Jay Hatfield, the ETF aims to deliver enhanced yield through options-writing strategies. Finally, BNDS could potentially see capital appreciation due to the credit-spread narrowing if economic conditions improve. Click here to learn more about the fund. Featured image from Shutterstock. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.
CTV News
44 minutes ago
- CTV News
Rural Oklahoma strives to become American hub for critical minerals processing
LAWTON, Oklahoma — Nestled beneath Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains sits a two-story warehouse containing the only machine in the United States capable of refining nickel, a crucial energy transition metal now dominated by China. The facility, owned by startup Westwin Elements, aims to help Oklahoma become the epicentre for U.S. critical minerals processing, a sector the country largely abandoned decades ago. The state will have to overcome several obstacles to get there, including a lack of major critical mineral deposits, a weak education system and its location at the centre of the United States - far from international shipping lanes. Yet Oklahoma's push into minerals processing marks an unexpected twist in the country's efforts to wean itself off Chinese rivals who have blocked exports. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to boost U.S. production of minerals used across the economy. In Oklahoma, the country's only nickel refinery, its largest lithium refinery, two lithium-ion battery recycling plants, a rare earths magnet facility, and several electronic waste collection facilities are under construction or in operation - more than in any other state. They join a Umicore site that produces germanium crystals for solar panels. An aluminum smelter - the country's first since 1980 - is set to break ground next year at a site bordering an Arkansas River tributary. 'I've strategically made a conscious effort to go after some of these new industries that I think are going to be critical,' Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, told Reuters. 'There's money flying into critical minerals from the investment side, so it might as well be located in Oklahoma.' Investors and corporate executives say the state's location, lack of mineral deposits, and other detracting factors are outweighed by a string of positives: Oklahoma has railways and highways bisecting the state en route to the three U.S. coasts, a workforce with deep energy experience, state rebates and other financial incentives, a large inland port with access to the Mississippi River watershed, and accommodating regulators. Officials boast on social media that Oklahoma is a 'one phone call state,' a description meant to evoke what they see as a streamlined regulatory process. Australia-based MLB Industrial, a startup that supplies lithium-ion batteries to the locomotive industry, expanded its business to Oklahoma earlier this year for that very reason. 'Other states were looking for a large, established company to invest, rather than a company with a growth profile,' said Nathan Leech, MLB's CEO, who moved his family to Oklahoma. 'We intend to grow in Oklahoma.' A nickel refinery, in particular, has been sought by Washington for years but Chinese market dumping had scared away would-be entrants, said a source familiar with the Trump administration's minerals policy. KaLeigh Long founded Westwin and named it after her desire for the U.S. to shake off Chinese minerals dependence - as she puts it, 'The West will win.' The firm has built a demonstration facility 137 km south of the state capital that it says can refine 200 metric tons of nickel annually and will expand to produce 34,000 metric tons per year by 2030. If successful, the Westwin facility would refine ten per cent of America's annual nickel needs, demand projections from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence show, drawing on rock taken from Turkish and Indonesian mines, as well as recycled U.S. batteries. Even as Oklahoma promises state tax rebates and other incentives, Westwin is lobbying Washington not to eliminate a federal production tax credit heavily opposed by Republicans along with other green energy subsidies enacted by former President Joe Biden, as Reuters reported earlier this month. Westwin is in negotiations with the Pentagon for a nickel supply deal that would keep metal inside the United States to make batteries for military drones and other equipment, according to a source familiar with the deliberations. Sustainable power Roughly 354 km northeast, a lithium refinery under construction from Stardust Power aims to produce 50,000 metric tons of the battery metal per year, about a fifth of what the U.S. is expected to need by 2030. Japan's Sumitomo signed a preliminary agreement in February to buy up to half of the facility's output. Stardust aims for the plant to filter lithium from brines - something that has yet to happen at commercial scale - and will have roughly the same capacity as Tesla's refinery under construction in Texas. It will be powered in part by renewable energy; nearly half of the state's electricity is generated by wind turbines. 'That was a huge draw,' said Roshan Pujari, Stardust's CEO. The company is pushing forward even after rival Albemarle paused plans to build a large U.S. refinery, citing weak lithium prices. 'During these down cycles is the best time to be developing, because why do we want prices to be high when we have nothing to sell?' Pujari said. USA Rare Earth, which went public earlier this year, chose Oklahoma over Texas for its rare earths magnet facility given what it felt was the personalized support from Stitt and other officials, said CEO Josh Ballard. Magnets made from rare earths turn electricity into motion for EVs; the U.S. stopped making them in the 1990s. Ballard says the facility is slated to open early next year and initially produce 1,200 metric tons annually, enough magnets to build more than 400,000 EVs. That supply is already highly sought after in the United States since China placed export restrictions on rare earths in April. Ballard said he has been fielding 'a lot of phone calls' since April from prospective customers. The company on Tuesday signed a preliminary supply agreement with Moog MOGa.N for magnets used in AI data centres. 'We can do this quickly. It's just a matter of how do we do it, and can the government help be a catalyst?' said Ballard. The company could get a boost from legislation introduced earlier this month by three U.S. senators - including Oklahoma's Markwayne Mullin - that would provide a tax credit for roughly 30 per cent of the cost to manufacture a magnet made from rare earths. Elsewhere, two Oklahoma battery processing facilities - from Green Li-ion and Blue Whale Materials - will break down lithium-ion batteries into copper and other building blocks for new batteries. Natural Evolution, in Tulsa, is spearheading a push to expand electronic waste recycling. Green Li-ion, which has a recycling facility in Atoka - Country music star Reba McEntire's hometown - has held talks with Glencore as well as Westwin about buying a recycled version of battery scrap known as MHP, or mixed hydroxide precipitate, that can be used to make nickel products, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. Glencore declined to comment. Most of the country's recycled batteries are exported now to China in the form of black mass, essentially shredded battery parts. Green Li-ion, which is headquartered in Singapore, moved its U.S. operations to Oklahoma given the state's history with oil and gas extraction, skills it sees as complementary to black mass processing. 'This state has a lot of chemical engineers,' said Kevin Hobbie, the company's senior vice president of operations. 'Swinging for the fences' Oklahoma's foray into the energy transition hasn't been all smooth sailing. Tesla supplier Panasonic in 2022 chose Kansas over Oklahoma for a battery plant after the Sunflower State wooed it with US$1 billion in incentives. In January, EV startup Canoo filed for bankruptcy despite a US$1 million state grant and Stitt's commitment for his administration to buy 1,000 of the company's vehicles. Canoo, which had several production facilities in Oklahoma, blamed uncertain demand for its cargo vans. State officials say they are trying to recoup the funds. Stitt said he is not bothered by the bankruptcy. 'We're going to keep swinging for the fences,' he said. The state's education system has also generated negative headlines, due in part to a battle over low standards that could make it difficult to convince high-tech talent and their families to relocate to Oklahoma. The state's pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade educational system, for instance, is ranked 48th out of the 50 U.S. states by U.S. News and World Report, and many schools have moved to a four-day week to save money. Alphabet's Google, which built an Oklahoma data centre in 2011, donated funds to the local school district in part to attract faculty. Oklahoma's superintendent of schools is an elected position over which Stitt has no control. The governor successfully pushed for a school voucher system that he said should attract more families. 'If I create competition, and now a public school has to compete for a student, it's going to make all boats rise and bring more talent to Oklahoma,' Stitt said. The governor said he is focused on helping the minerals refiners in his state grow and is lobbying Trump to require federal contractors to increase the percentage of minerals they buy that are processed in the country. That's a key desire also for Long, the Westwin founder, who spent her youth herding cattle, an experience she said inspired her interest in refining and a reticence for mining. 'After seeing the beef and meat industry, I learned that the packer is the one that seems to take the least amount of risk and yet makes the most amount of money,' she said. 'When I saw mining, I was like, 'The miner is the rancher and the refiner is the packer.' So I decided I want to be the packer.' --- Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; additional reporting by Nick Oxford; Editing by Veronica Brown and Claudia Parsons
