Wall Street's GameStop Defeat | The Neighborhood Ikea? | Canada's Best Employers

Plus: Instacart Survived Covid Chaos—But Can It Keep Delivering After The Pandemic?

Good morning.

The rally in GameStop shares has minted a new billionaire—but some think the game has gone far enough. We also look at the latest details about the house fire that killed Tony Hsieh and introduce Canada’s best employers.

In The News Today

Bill Gates called on wealthy nations to make adequate investments to prepare for the next pandemic after Covid-19. In a separate interview, the billionaire Microsoft cofounder addressed the “crazy conspiracy theories” about him.

Climate change is a “global emergency,” according to an overwhelming majority of the 1.2 million people surveyed in the largest ever opinion poll on the topic—spread across 50 countries, including major fossil fuel producers.

Top Take-Aways

GameStop’s skyrocketing shares have made a billionaire of Ryan Cohen, an activist investor eager to forge a turnaround for the brick-and-mortar retailer. But another key player in this drama, Dr. Michael Burry—the investor of The Big Short fame—now thinks GameStop’s “insane” rally has gone too far, as some hedge funds begin to count their losses.

An investigation conducted by the New London fire department into the house fire that killed visionary business leader Tony Hsieh presented four theories—but the cause of the blaze remains, for now, undetermined.

A Silicon Valley battery materials company cofounded and led by a former Tesla engineer, Sila Nanotechnologies raised a further $590 million to produce materials to improve the efficiency of batteries for electric vehicles and consumer electronics.

Calibrate aims to disrupt the weight loss industry, and it’s got fresh new funding to do just that: the telehealth startup raised $22.5 million to fuel expansion across the U.S. and to develop new products to meet users’ demand.

Ikea is known for operating huge destination-stores, but the Swedish chain is changing its one-size-fits-all strategy to offer more neighborhood-friendly retail experiences—including shops specializing in design services or as places to pick up online orders.

Do you work for one of Canada’s best employers? Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to compile the ranking by surveying more than 8,000 Canadians working for businesses with at least 500 employees.

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, the U.K.-based Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is asking people to light a candle as part of its “Be The Light In The Darkness” campaign. From our archives, I recommend this story about one Jewish family’s struggle to reclaim its art trove, looted by the Nazis.

Today's Must Read

In Case You Missed It

Mexico’s richest person, Carlos Slim Helu, has contracted Covid-19. Slim, who will turn 81 on January 28, has taken a turn for the better, the spokesman said. Forbes currently estimates Slim’s fortune at $59.9 billion, which makes him the 21st richest person in the world.

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