Employment in Canada fell by 41,700 in August, reversing some of the labour market momentum observed in recent months as manufacturing posted the only significant increase.
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Canadian employment down 41,700, jobless rate holds at 6.4%
A $500,000 career, gone at 25: esports’ injury crisis is forcing teams to build sports-medicine staffs
He was 25 years old.
Video games have a reputation for keeping people glued to the couch. But for those who compete against the best players in the world, gaming can be surprisingly physically and mentally taxing.
The best esports players often have grinding schedules. They’re expected to regularly practice, participate in scrimmages and compete in official matches. Even at the recreational level, esports players cite the mental toll: playing for hours a day, every day, to hone their skills so they can “climb the ladder.”
A 2021 study of Portuguese esports players found that 37% experienced anxiety and depression, and 45% experienced sleep disturbances. The most common physical injuries in esports generally fall under eye problems and musculoskeletal issues.
Many esport players – professional or otherwise – also battle hand and wrist pain, with repetitive button-smashing causing injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and “gamer’s thumb,” which arises from overuse or irritation of the tendons around the thumb and wrist. Many of the overuse injuries seen among video game players are also familiar to assembly-line workers, whose jobs can involve similarly repetitive movements.
Then there are the back injuries. Players can remain seated for three or more hours without a break, and this prolonged sitting can take a toll on the lower back and spine.
The sedentary nature of esports has also led to a lesser-known – sometimes fatal – injury called deep vein thrombosis: a blood clot, often in the leg, that can become life-threatening if it travels to the lungs. In 2011, British gamer Chris Staniforth – who would play for as long as 12 hours at a time – died of the condition.
Preventative measures
As more esports injury research has been published, more treatment and prevention strategies have emerged.
Top esports teams now have physical therapists, performance psychologists, athletic trainers and even massage therapists on staff to optimize the performance and recovery of their players.
Teams often incorporate group exercise activities to both build rapport among players and reduce the risk of injuries. During competition, proper positioning of the spine and limbs has become an essential injury prevention strategy. For example, selecting a chair that encourages an upright posture can reduce pain and injury risk, especially when gamers couple ergonomics with an exercise program that centers on functional strength, mobility and stretching of the upper limbs.
When esports began gaining mainstream popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, its proponents were eager to draw comparisons to traditional sports and athletic competition. The parallels helped establish esports’ legitimacy and gave non-gamers a familiar framework for understanding the competition. As esports became a big business and a lucrative career path, players and teams hired a web of support staff – trainers, coaches and therapists – that mirrored the structure of professional sports. In this vein, a lot of esports injury research has pulled from the training methods of traditional sports. However, as a scholar of exercise science, I think injury treatment and prevention strategies could be further improved by seeing esports competitors as more like musicians and dancers than football players and basketball players. Performance optimization and injury research on professional performing artists has existed for centuries, and I think it represents a valuable, untapped resource. That’s because the physical and mental stresses experienced during musical performance have a lot in common with esports competition: long stretches of sitting; small, dexterous hand movements; and performing without the real-time input of a coach. For example, biomechanics research has found similar patterns of forearm muscle fatigue among esports players and piano players. However, no studies to date have directly compared the two groups. And what if the interest in joint hypermobility or hand size among performing artists were translated to esport populations? Could popular piano warm-up exercises be effective for esports athletes who use keyboards? Even research on sports like car racing might offer valuable insights. As with gamers, many people overlook how physically demanding car racing can be – and yes, that includes sitting for extended periods of time. Prevention and rehabilitation techniques continue to improve. Even Jian, the player who retired in 2020, returned to play for a few splits, or partial seasons, in 2022 and 2023. In July 2023, “League of Legends” star Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was relegated to the bench due to cubital tunnel syndrome, an injury that emerges from arm and hand overuse. Through a treatment plan that included changing his gaming posture and intensive physical therapy, Lee was able to return to play just a month later. He went on to win three consecutive world championships, with his support team helping prevent recurrence of injury throughout each season. Thanks to his rehabilitation, Lee’s fans will be able to follow his hunt for his fourth “League of Legends” World Championship, which kicks off in October 2026 in the United States. Sienna Cinti assisted with the research and writing of this article. Erica D. Henn, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Exercise Science, Temple University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Looking to the stage
Compounding knowledge is the real career edge in finance
The same math behind compounding returns applies to your career. Former AmEx and Citi CFO and private equity exec Gary Crittenden on why consistently building knowledge over time—about an industry, about what works and what doesn’t—creates results that are hard to replicate. From Carried Interest Ep. 3 with Gary Crittenden.
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Home Bias: The Hidden Cost of Staying Close to Home
Home Bias: The Hidden Cost of Staying Close to Home
Dow Jones squeezed at 53,111 ahead of breakout: Live levels
Dow Jones squeezed at 53,111 ahead of breakout: Live levels
Staples No-Fee Visa Gift Card Deal Is Back! (Sep 6-12)
Staples No-Fee Visa Gift Card Deal
Staples has a new promotion that waives the fees on Visa Gift cards. These are popular promotions that we have seen more frequently in recent times. You can check the upcoming ad for this latest Staples Visa Gift Card promo, or check your local store.
During the promotion period, you can buy $200 Visa gift cards with no activation fee at all. That fee is normally $7.95 per card. So this is a good opportunity to purchase these gift cards at face value. That’s a pretty good deal if you also have a card that earns a good rate at office supply stores, such as Chase Ink Business Cash (5X Ultimate Rewards). Check out the details of this latest fee-free Visa gift card deal at Staples.
Offer Details
No purchase fee (a $7.95 value) when you buy a $200 Visa® Gift Card. See weekly ad here.
Important Terms
- Offer valid September 6 – September 12, 2026.
- In store only.
- Limit 9 per customer per day.
- The Visa Gift Card is issued by MetaBank
Guru’s Wrap-Up
This Visa gift card promotion at Staples is quite popular for good reason. You get the gift cards at face value and you can earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points. So I would suggest going to your nearest location early in the week because stock runs out quickly. That’s especially true now that they have run continuous promotions every few weeks.
With the new limit of 9, is now easier to make larger purchases at the same store. Previously it would normally be up to management to set a limit.
And remember, this only applies to $200 Visa gift cards. Some Staples stores also carry variable load Visa gift cards (up to $500) with a $5.95 fee, but those cards are not eligible for the promotion. So you would end up paying the activation fee.
What it takes to start wholesale from BrokerBrand TPO exec
To run its start-up mortgage wholesale production channel, Evergreen Moneysource turned to an executive who has a broad swath of experience in third-party originations, as well as including reverse mortgages and depositories.
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Bob Marseilles most recently was vice president, third party originations at First Tech Federal Credit Union. Prior to this, Marseilles also worked at Spring EQ, PHH Mortgage,
He is now
National Mortgage News spoke with Marseilles about his work in setting up the wholesale channel. His responses are below.
What is his guiding philosophy
“In nearly 25 years spent in the mortgage space, almost all of it has come back to really one question: How you build a lending business that works for people that are actually the ones that are originating loans?” Marseilles said in an interview with National Mortgage News.
He has focused on designing, launching and growing both wholesale and correspondent channels.
At Spring EQ, Marseilles headed
“But then, more importantly, introduced the correspondent platform for them at a national level,” he said. “From there, I received an extremely unique opportunity to move over into the depository space for First Tech Federal Credit Union.” He created the TPO platform for the credit union from the ground up.
“I think the exciting part of that was, not only were we building a new business, we were actually doing it at a really exciting time as they were undergoing the largest credit union merger in the industry,” Marseilles said. At the start of the year, First Tech and Digital Federal Credit Union became a single organization, completing
Still, what matters most in starting a wholesale operation isn’t necessarily the resume.
What he likes about the wholesale business
“It’s understanding our brokers,” and doing so by getting out from behind the desk to meet with them, Marseilles said.
“It’s one of my favorite parts of the business, getting to meet with our partners in person, helping determine what they need from a lender, understanding where lenders let them down, what it actually means to earn their business, and then most importantly, keeping it,” he elaborated. Wholesalers win on items like trust, service and technology, the things which make a broker’s job easier, not rate sheets alone.
BrokerBrand TPO is one of several recent startups in the channel which are coming on board at a time when three lenders control more than half of its volume. United Wholesale Mortgage
Competition in the broker channel
Such concentration is an opportunity as brokers have come to what he called “an uncomfortable reality.” Too much of the wholesale business is built for lenders to capture the borrower, not to protect the mortgage broker’s relationship with them,” Marseilles said.
“Brokers are telling us that they want a different kind of partner,” he said. “They want a partner that helps them grow their business instead of competing for it.”
The fulfillment model is built around communication, including creating a relationship between the broker and the underwriter.
Evergreen has over four decades of experience in the mortgage business, under the leadership of founder and CEO Donald Burton and Dan Richards, chief strategy officer, which creates the foundation for focusing its efforts on answering this main concern of mortgage brokers.
“We’re building our channel around making sure our broker’s business becomes stronger and the borrower experience becomes more consistent,” Marseilles pointed out.
This includes committing to not going after the borrower if a refinance or recapture opportunity comes up and having its servicing function “broker branded.”
Has Nike’s Stock Bottomed Out?
Nike (NKE -0.95%) is facing some considerable challenges these days. That much is obvious. The business is struggling to generate much growth, margins are down, and competition is up. Unsurprisingly, the stock hasn’t been doing well.
But given how disastrous its performance has been — it’s declined 76% in five years — investors may feel tempted to buy the shoe stock at its seemingly dirt cheap valuation. This is, after all, still Nike. It’s a popular consumer brand, and while it’s fallen on hard times, the company is making efforts to turn its business around.
Has the stock bottomed out, and is now a good time to buy it, or is there still the risk that it could go even lower?
Image source: Getty Images.
The company has been steady of late, but that hasn’t been enough for investors
Nike reported 0% revenue growth in its most recent fiscal year, which ended on May 31. Virtually no growth at all on the top line. Digging a bit deeper, the story, however, becomes a bit more complex. Its business grew by 5% in North America but declined by 13% (excluding foreign exchange effects) in Greater China, a key market for Nike.
The company’s challenges in growing revenue aren’t new. Revenue totaled more than $46 billion this past fiscal year, but just two years ago it was north of $51 billion. Despite weaker comparables, the company’s growth rate still isn’t high, which could be a worrisome sign that its turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill isn’t going all that well. Meanwhile, tariffs and trade uncertainty may continue to impact the business; it’s tough to convince investors to take a chance on Nike right now.
Today’s Change
(-0.95%) $-0.37
Current Price
$38.40
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$57BMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.
Day’s Range
$37.98 – $38.66
52wk Range
$37.95 – $76.97
Volume
20.6M
Avg Vol
24.9M
Gross Margin
43.14%
Dividend Yield
4.27%
The stock doesn’t look so cheap based on expected earnings
Even though Nike’s stock has taken a beating in recent years, its bottom line has also shrunk along the way. The end result is a stock that really isn’t all that cheap. Based on analyst expectations, it’s trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of nearly 23. That’s actually higher than what the average stock on the S&P 500 trades at — 21 times future profits.
Nike’s stock can still go lower, especially if economic conditions don’t improve. Consumers are scaling back on discretionary purchases, rising costs remain a concern, and buying Nike products right now may be difficult for many customers to justify. As bad as things are for Nike, they could still get worse, which is why I’d avoid the stock for the foreseeable future.
Heidi O’Neill resigns from Spotify’s board after nearly nine years, days before starting as Lululemon CEO
Heidi O’Neill has resigned from Spotify‘s Board of Directors.
Her resignation took effect on Thursday (September 3), according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission published the same day.
Spotify said O’Neill‘s decision to resign was not due to any disagreement with the company.
O’Neill becomes Chief Executive Officer of Lululemon on September 8, five days after her Spotify exit took effect. She will also join the Lululemon board.
“Heidi has been part of Spotify‘s story since before we were a public company,” said Daniel Ek, Spotify‘s Founder and Executive Chairman, in a statement.
“For nearly nine years, she brought a rare instinct for consumers and brands, and her perspective genuinely shaped how we think.
“We’ll miss her, and I know she’ll do remarkable things at Lululemon.”
“For nearly nine years, she brought a rare instinct for consumers and brands, and her perspective genuinely shaped how we think.”
Daniel Ek, Spotify
Lululemon announced O’Neill’s appointment on April 22.
In April, a Lululemon spokesperson attributed the four-and-a-half-month gap between the announcement and her start date to an agreement O’Neill had signed with Nike, according to Bloomberg. The agreement barred her from working for a competitor for a set period.
She succeeds Calvin McDonald, who stepped down as Lululemon‘s CEO and as a director on January 31, 2026.
Meghan Frank and André Maestrini have run the company as interim co-CEOs since then.
“lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” O’Neill said at the time.
“As I step into the CEO role in September, my job will be to build on that foundation – to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.
“I am humbled by the opportunity and energized by what the team is already building. I look forward to joining the company and helping to define and deliver the organization’s next chapter of success.”
Lululemon posted its fiscal Q2 results on September 3, the same day as the Spotify filing, reporting net revenue down 4% YoY to USD $2.4 billion in the three months to August 2.
The company also cut its full-year guidance and now expects 2026 net revenue of USD $10.35 billion to USD $10.5 billion.
“We look forward to welcoming our incoming CEO, Heidi O’Neill, next week as we begin an exciting new chapter for the company,” said André Maestrini, Lululemon‘s Interim Co-CEO, President, and Chief Commercial Officer.
Before Lululemon, O’Neill spent 26 years at Nike, leaving in September 2025, most recently as President of Consumer, Product and Brand.
Nike split that division into three areas reporting to CEO Elliott Hill in May 2025 and said O’Neill decided to retire as a result.
Earlier, as President of Consumer and Marketplace at Nike, she ran operations across more than 170 countries, according to Lululemon.
She also sits on the boards of Hyatt Hotels and Lithia Motors.
O’Neill had sat on the Spotify board since December 5, 2017, months before the firm went public via a direct listing in 2018.
At Spotify, O’Neill was classified as an independent director and sat on the board’s People Experience & Compensation Committee, chaired by Lead Independent Director Christopher Marshall, alongside Martin Lorentzon and Shishir Mehrotra.
Shareholders re-elected O’Neill and the 11 other members of Spotify‘s board at the company’s annual general meeting on April 15.
The Spotify board’s most recent change before O’Neill‘s departure came on January 1, 2026, when co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström joined it, as Daniel Ek moved into the Executive Chairman role.
Spotify‘s September 3 filing did not name a replacement for O’Neill, leaving the board with 11 directors.Music Business Worldwide
BM & HRM MARATHON | UGC NET JUNE 2025 | Paper 2 COMMERCE | Sheemal Bhagi #ugcnet2025 #ugcnetexam
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BM & HRM MARATHON | UGC NET JUNE 2025 | Paper 2 COMMERCE | Sheemal Bhagi #ugcnet2025 #ugcnetexam
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