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An Alcoa construction project began Friday at the Deschambault smelter in the Capitale-Nationale region to increase casting center capacity and create a small ingot production line.

Constructed in an existing building, the $9.8 million project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.

It comes in addition to the two vertical pouring chutes already in the plant.

“We are working directly with a customer to integrate this manufacturing capability to meet specific needs in the North American market,” said Kelly Thomas, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, in a statement.

Small billet production meets customers’ needs for value-added products such as foundry alloys for the automotive industry.

“This project, which will enable the sustainable production of high quality aluminum, will add to the competitiveness of our existing Canadian portfolio and we are very proud of it,” added Louis Langlois, President of Alcoa Canada.

The smelter has already completed an energy infrastructure project to increase production.

Note that the plant has a rated capacity of 287,000 tons of aluminum per year.

• Non-farm payrolls increase by 372,000 in June
• Private sector employment back above pre-pandemic levels
• Unemployment rate remains stable at 3.6%
• The average hourly wage increases by 0.3%; 5.1% more than in the previous year

WASHINGTON, July 8 (R) – US employers hired far more workers than expected in June and continued to steadily hike wages, signs of continued labor market strength that are giving the Federal Reserve ammunition for another 75 basis point interest rate hike this month.

The Labor Department’s closely watched jobs report on Friday also showed no evidence of companies reducing working hours for workers. The number of people working part-time for economic reasons has fallen to its lowest level in almost 21 years.

Strong job growth allayed fears of an impending recession and gave hope that any downturn would be mild.

“If you scan this report for signs that we’re already in a recession, you’re likely to get nothing,” said Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed in Washington. “At the moment, employers continue to hire a significant number of workers at higher wages. That’s something to celebrate.”

The survey of farms showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 372,000 jobs in the last month. It was the fourth consecutive month that more than 350,000 jobs were added and employment fell 524,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels. The private sector has recovered all jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and employment is up 140k from February 2020. State employment remains in the hole by 664k.

Economists polled by R had forecast 268,000 additional jobs, with estimates ranging from 90,000 to 400,000. The broad surge in June was led by the professional and business services industry, which added 74,000 jobs. The number of people employed in the leisure and hospitality sector rose by 67,000 jobs. However, employment in the sector has fallen by 1.3 million since February 2020.

There have also been strong wage increases in healthcare, information, and transportation and warehousing. Manufacturing has added 29,000 jobs and regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic. The number of people employed in the construction industry increased by 13,000 jobs.

The economy created 2.74 million jobs in the first half of the year. President Joe Biden welcomed the strong job gains.

“No country is better positioned than America to bring down inflation without giving up all of the economic gains we’ve made over the past 18 months,” Biden said in a statement.

Wall Street stocks fell. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields rose.

A job seeker exits the airport-related employment job fair at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. December 7, 2021. R/Brian Snyder

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ANOTHER RECESSION The labor market is strong despite the contraction in gross domestic product in the January-March quarter. A series of tepid reports ranging from consumer spending in May to housing and manufacturing led most economists to expect GDP to contract again in the second quarter.

However, with the labor market tight, a second straight decline in quarterly GDP would not mean a recession.

“But if the US economy is in or about to enter a recession, it would be a very different type of recession than other historical downturns,” said Noah Williams, adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

“Recessions have largely been characterized by contractions in employment, which typically began with a slowdown in corporate hiring.

The Fed wants to dampen labor demand to bring inflation down to its 2% target. The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest hike since 1994. Markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed, which has raised its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points since March, to announce a further 75-basis point hike at its meeting later this month.

June inflation data next Wednesday, which is expected to show an acceleration in consumer prices, is also expected to give policymakers more cover to further raise borrowing costs.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in June after rising 0.4% in May. As a result, the annual increase fell to 5.1% from 5.3% in May. Despite the slowdown, wage pressures remain resilient, with average hourly wages for manufacturing workers rising a solid 0.5%. They increased by 6.4% year-on-year.

With 11.3 million job vacancies at the end of May and almost two jobs for every unemployed person, wages will continue to rise. Continue reading

The average work week remained constant at 34.5 hours. The information on the household survey, from which unemployment is derived, was mixed. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6% for the fourth straight month as 353,000 people left the labor market, almost half of them women. As a result, the participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have or are looking for a job, fell to 62.2% from 62.3% in May.

Household employment fell by 315,000 jobs. However, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons fell by 707,000 to 3.6 million, the lowest level since August 2001.

A broader measure of unemployment, which includes people who want to work but have given up looking and people who work part-time because they can’t find full-time employment, fell to 6.7%. That was the lowest since the government began tracking data series in 1994, and down from 7.1% in May.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Our standards: The Trust Principles.

Quebec’s Accessible Taxi Drivers (ACTAQ) have decided to exercise a strike mandate from Friday to Monday to denounce their working conditions, which they consider deplorable.

Among other things, the drivers would like an increase in their hourly rate for paid laps.

“This reassessment is natural given the current level of inflation and its financial impact on the operating costs of our activities,” the association said in a press release on Friday.

The revision of the computer system is also requested, as this would be the cause of an “abnormal” increase in transport and waiting times, which would affect the quality of service.

Respect for the legal status of the subcontractor is also put forward.

“This seizure of our bargaining power is the reason for the continuous impoverishment of our collective, even if it contributes effectively and largely to the achievement of the objectives assigned to this essential service for people with disabilities and reduced mobility”, it was mentioned .

The association took the opportunity to ask drivers to intervene with the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) to benefit from the vehicle adaptation subsidy.

Other protest actions should be planned later if no progress is noted.

Enlarge / Starlink Maritime uses two terminals on large boats.

Starlink

SpaceX yesterday announced a Starlink Maritime service that will bring satellite internet service to large boats for $5,000 a month and a $10,000 hardware upfront purchase.

“From merchant ships to oil platforms to premium yachts, Starlink Maritime allows you to connect from the most remote waters on the planet, just like you would at the office or at home,” the service’s website reads.

Starlink Maritime touts download speeds of up to 350Mbps and the ability to “pause and pause” the service at any time, while billing is in monthly increments. There’s also “secure fleet management” and remote monitoring to “manage your Starlink fleet from a single portal”.

The user terminals displayed on Starlink’s Maritime page are similar to those used in Starlink’s home internet service. But SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that Starlink Maritime “uses two high-capacity terminals, which are important for maintaining connectivity in rough seas and severe storms.” The terminals are also “resilient to relentless salt spray and extreme deep sea winds and storms,” ​​he wrote. advertisement

Musk says $5,000 is cheaper than alternatives

Starlink

Musk acknowledged that the $5,000 monthly fee was “obvious.”[iously] “Premium pricing,” but added that “it’s a lot cheaper and faster than alternatives.”

“SpaceX was paying $150,000/month for a much worse connection to our ships!” Musk wrote.

The unveiling of Starlink Maritime came shortly after the Federal Communications Commission granted SpaceX’s application to operate consumer and enterprise Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM) across the United States. The permit covers moving vehicles, aircraft and ships in US and international waters.

Starlink already had an RV service, but it’s not intended to be used while driving an RV. Another vehicle-moving service is believed to be on the way, and SpaceX plans to provide Starlink internet on flights.

If you’re tired of your yacht and just want Starlink internet at home, it’s $110 per month with a one-time hardware fee of $599.

Caisse de Dépôt’s controversial cryptocurrency partner, Celsius Network, has been accused by its ex-business partner KeyFi of setting up a “Ponzi scheme”.

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“The recent revelation that Celsius did not have the assets necessary to meet its withdrawal obligations shows that the defendants did in fact operate a Ponzi scheme,” claims a New York State court document provided to The Journal.

According to the complainant, Celsius faced a liquidity crisis and then offered hefty interest rates to attract new depositors.

As a result, the money was used to repay former depositors and creditors.

“Although Celsius continued to present itself as a transparent and well-capitalized company, it had actually become a Ponzi scheme,” the lawsuit argues.

The Mute Fund

The Caisse did not want to react to these explosive allegations on Friday.

“We will not comment. We continue to monitor the situation closely,” Caisse spokeswoman Kate Monfette told the Journal.

Celsius also did not respond to our interview request.

Canadian telecoms company Rogers is suffering from a major outage affecting landline phones, cellular connections and internet connections across Canada that began early today. The failure has also separated Interac, the network used by Canadian banks, is disabling debit cards, ATMs and the e-transfer services that recently hit over 1 billion transactions in a year. Downdetector listed thousands of reports for the problems when people got up around 5am and couldn’t get online.

Rogers addressed the failure first in a tweet from his official support account just before 9am ET and then fell silent for a couple of hours. In a statement to The Verge and tweeted Around 11:30 a.m. ET, Rogers said, “We are currently experiencing an outage on our wired and wireless networks and our technical teams are working hard to restore services as soon as possible. On behalf of all of us at Rogers, we sincerely apologize to our customers and will continue to update you as we have more information to share, including when we expect service to be available again. Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this issue.”

On behalf of all of us at Rogers, we sincerely apologize to our customers and will continue to update you as we have more information to share, including when we expect service to be available again. pic.twitter.com/JIjGRUzxe5

— RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) July 8, 2022

Cloudflare radar chart showing traffic change to and from Rogers dropping to zero earlier today, Image: Cloudflare

Cloudflare Radar shows communication between its load-sharing network and Rogers in Canada, showing its normal nightly pattern before falling to essentially zero at around 3-4 p.m. ET and registering a flat line ever since. At the same time, there has been a massive spike in BGP announcements to the network indicating changes in routing, but it is unknown if these were a trigger for the incident or a result of the network going offline.

Internet network disruption tracker NetBlocks shared real-time data shows Canada’s national connectivity has dropped to just 75 percent of its normal level.

ℹ️ Update: The internet and telecom outage in #Canada is ongoing, with a quarter of the country’s observable connectivity currently suspended; Metrics show major impact on Rogers/Fido and a number of smaller network providers pic.twitter.com/HbcoM7PRKB

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) July 8, 2022

According to a report by CBC News, Rogers’ daughter Fido is also struggling. According to the article, issues have impacted card payment processing and ATMs across Canada. A CBC radio station in Kitchener, Ontario is also offline, and some telephone services for the Ottawa transit agency were knocked out. Images from Toronto show people crammed into cafes or going to the library to access Wi-Fi now that their other options are offline.

TekSavvy Customer Service said customers The outage extends to “Ontario, Quebec and the eastern provinces,” with no ETA for a fix, while the CBC reports that Thunder Bay operator Tbaytel says the Rogers outage is nationwide.

Toronto police tweeted early this morning after some people in the city experienced connectivity issues when calling 911. “The Rogers Network is experiencing some technical difficulties,” the Toronto Police Operations Twitter account said. “We are working to solve these problems.” in one follow up tweetPolice confirmed their 911 center is operational and advised anyone who needs to call to hold the line when they connect and to try calls again if they don’t.

INTERAC e-Transfer services are not available at most financial institutions, affecting the ability to send and receive payments. We are awaiting updates from Rogers on their resolution.

— INTERAC (@INTERAC) July 8, 2022

Update July 8, 9:52 am ET: Added Bank of Montreal information.

Update July 8, 11:20 am ET: Ongoing outage detected, added information from Cloudflare Radar, TekSavvy and Tbaytel.

Update July 8, 11:33 am ET: Added explanation from Rogers.

Update July 8, 12:40 p.m. ET: Added latest update of NetBlocks.

Update July 8, 1:31 p.m. ET: Added additional information about the Interac Banking network outage, thanks mbarriault.

A Tesla logo is pictured on a car in the rain in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, the United States, May 5, 2021. R/Carlo Allegri

WASHINGTON, July 7 (R) – U.S. auto safety agencies have opened a special investigation into a fatal pedestrian accident in California involving a 2018 Tesla (TSLA.O) Model 3 suspected of using an advanced driver assistance system becomes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited the California incident in an emailed update Thursday, but did not identify the specific accident.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported June 7 that a Tesla blew up, hitting and killing a woman. NBC-7 in San Diego said a 39-year-old man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.

NHTSA had previously opened 35 special accident investigations involving Tesla vehicles suspected of using advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot since 2016.

NHTSA typically opens more than 100 Special Accident Investigations each year on new technology and other potential automotive safety issues that previously contributed to the development of airbag safety regulations, for example.

A total of 15 fatalities were reported in these Tesla investigations, including the most recent incident.

Tesla, which has closed its press office, did not respond to a request for comment.

Separately, NHTSA told R it was “aware and in discussions with Tesla” of a crash in Florida on Wednesday that killed a 66-year-old Tesla driver and a 67-year-old passenger.

A 2015 Tesla left a tractor-trailer behind at a rest area off Interstate 75 in the Gainesville area, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a police report. Both people in the Tesla were pronounced dead at the scene.

In June, NHTSA upgraded its defect probe to 830,000 Tesla (TSLA.O) vehicles with Autopilot, a required step before it could request a recall.

NHTSA initiated a preliminary assessment to rate the system’s performance in 765,000 vehicles after about a dozen accidents in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles — and said last month it had identified six other accidents.

NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff told R on Wednesday that he wants the Tesla Autopilot investigation “to be completed as soon as possible, but I also want to make things right.” There is a lot of information that we need to comb through.”

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller

Our standards: The Trust Principles.

Defenseman Duncan Keith has made the decision to retire and will not be returning to the Edmonton Oilers next season.

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This was hinted at by some sources including the TSN network on Friday. The 38-year-old veteran will thus give up his last year of contract; his average annual salary was $5.4 million.

According to radio station TSN 1260, Oilers general manager Ken Holland had asked Keith to give him an answer on his intentions by Saturday to better plan for the sequel. Consequently, the former Chicago Blackhawks will give Edmonton more room under the salary cap.

Keith was acquired by the Hawks on July 12, 2021 and had 21 points, including 20 assists, in 64 games last regular season while maintaining a +15 differential. He won two Norris Trophies in his career (2009-2010 and 2013-2014) and the Conn-Smythe in 2014-2015. In 1256 games he collected 646 points.