Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of The Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.

Carney says chances are low for tariff-free trade deal with U.S.Open this photo in gallery:

Speaking to reporters on his way into the office ahead of a virtual cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mark Carney predicted trade talks ‘will intensify’ ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged publicly for the first time that the trade deal he’s negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump will likely leave some tariffs in place. He said he sees little evidence of a “tariff-free deal” that would remove all U.S. levies on Canadian goods. The two countries have been in negotiations since the G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta last month, but Mr. Carney also told reporters that he predicted trade talks “will intensify” ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

Mr. Carney also announced new protection measures to bolster Canada’s steel industry, which has effectively been shut out of the U.S. market by Trump’s tariffs. Mr. Carney said that countries that have free-trade agreements with Canada will be subject to 50-per-cent tariffs if they ship more than 100 per cent of their 2024 volumes into Canada. Meanwhile, Ottawa will also slash current tariff-free steel quotas for countries that don’t have free-trade agreements with Canada from 100 per cent of 2024 volumes to 50 per cent.

Couche-Tard pulls bid for Japan’s Seven & iOpen this photo in gallery:

Alimentation Couche-Tard announced it was pulling its bid for a US$46-billion takeover of 7-Eleven owner Seven & i.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has abandoned its roughly US$46-billion effort to take over Seven & i Holdings Co. The Quebec-based company is accusing the Tokyo-based owner of 7-Eleven of failing to engage in meaningful talks toward a potential deal: “There has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal”, Couche-Tard chair Alain Bouchard and chief executive Alex Miller said in a note to the Japanese company’s board.

Couche-Tard’s withdrawal puts an end to its nearly year-long effort to pursue Seven & i, bringing finality to a situation that has dragged down the Canadian company’s stock price. But the Japanese company had been frosty to the proposal from the start. Instead, as Nicolas Van Praet and Jameson Berkow report, Couche-Tard Inc. is now looking for other potential acquisition deals.

Decoder: Canada is building lots of rental housing – and losing interest in condos

Sales in Toronto’s preconstruction market slid to their lowest level in three decades this quarter, causing developers to delay or cancel new planned projects. Meanwhile, residential real estate developers have cut jobs as the Canadian residential development industry faces the worst downturn since the 1990s recession, Rachelle Younglai reports. If the slowdown continues, more than 100,000 jobs in the homebuilding industry could be eliminated.

National housing starts, however, have held up a lot better because developers are building loads of rental units. Over the past year, there have been roughly 108,000 rental housing starts, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. That’s nearly double the figure for condo units. A couple of initiatives from CMHC, such as the Apartment Construction Loan Program, and Ottawa’s decision to scrap the GST from new purpose-built rentals have played a key role, according to one industry expert. Matt Lundy takes a closer look at the numbers in this week’s Decoder series.

GO Residential, a luxury rental REIT in New York, launches rare IPO in CanadaOpen this photo in gallery:

The Manhattan skyline is pictured from the Summit at One Vanderbilt observatory in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoMike Segar/Reuters

An American real estate company that owns luxury rental apartment towers in New York is trying to go public in Canada. GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust is launching a US$410-million initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. If GO completes the deal, it will be one of the largest real estate IPOs in Canadian history. However, as Tim Kiladze reports, the IPO is launching into a tricky market for commercial real estate companies.

The company, co-founded by Joshua Gotlib and Meyer Orbach, owns five rental towers in Manhattan along the East River, including the Copper Buildings, where the average monthly rent is US$8.05 per square foot. That amounts to US$8,050 per month for a 1,000-square-foot apartment.

From established players to startups, Ottawa’s massive defence spending is set to transform the industryOpen this photo in gallery:

Seaspan CEO John McCarthy says he’s encouraged by Ottawa’s new direction and bullish about his company’s prospects.HUBERT KANG/The Globe and Mail

For the first time since anyone can remember, Canadians are considering the possibility that the peace we’ve enjoyed for decades could end – along with the deep reliance we’ve had on the United States. Defence has returned to the top of the list of government priorities, and the country is trying to figure out how best to allocate a new wave of military spending.

For Canadian industry, the prevailing question is: What’s the opportunity here? For major players, such as CAE Inc. and Bombardier Inc., the focus on military spending could mean major new lines of business and lucrative government contracts. To startups and emerging technology companies, the shift is already transforming a sector they were previously discouraged from entering into the hottest ticket in town. Pippa Norman and Nicolas Van Praet dive deep into how Ottawa’s massive defence spending is set to transform the industry.

While the most commonly used measure says inflation ticked up slightly to an annual rate of 1.9 per cent in June, core indicators say that underlying inflation pressure in Canada is running around:

a. 1 per cent

b. 3 per cent

c. 4 per cent

d. 5 per cent

b. 3 per cent. The Bank of Canada’s CPI-trim and CPI-median indicators both show underlying inflation to be around 3 per cent a year. The stubborn persistence of inflation is likely to deter the central bank from cutting rates, at least for now.

Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.