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Here are the top reads,
Opposition: Over the past four months, Michael Beattie has been at the forefront of a hard-edged public-relations campaign to sink the $1.5-billion takeover of construction company Aecon Group Inc. by a state-controlled Chinese infrastructure company. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)
Takeover review: The Trudeau cabinet has ordered a formal national-security review of the $1.5-billion takeover of Canadian infrastructure firm Aecon Group by a Chinese state-owned construction and engineering enterprise. Story (Robert Fife and Steven Chase)
Pension consolidation: Bank of Nova Scotia has struck a deal to buy independent investment firm Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd. for $950-million, paying the purchase price mostly with the bank's stock. Story (James Bradshaw)
Legacy: He is one of the original fearless voices, a crusader who took on Canada's corporate elite – from lazy corporate directors to overcompensated investment bankers. As an independent money manager who founded his own firm, Stephen Jarislowsky had free range to say whatever he wanted to. Now, in his 93rd year, Mr. Jarislowsky has sold that firm to Bank of Nova Scotia for nearly $1-billion. Story (Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)
Regulators: A Canadian regulator has fined a senior executive at National Bank Financial Inc. $90,000 after he struck a pact with a client to gain unfair access to a company's newly issued bonds. Story
Wealth management: When asked how low his company can go when it comes to the management fees investors pay, Vanguard Group's new president and CEO, Tim Buckley, doesn't hesitate with his response of "zero." Story (Clare O'Hara)
CIBC bulks up: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bulked up its newly launched "innovation banking" team Monday by hiring cross-border tech financier Robert Rosen away from rival Comerica Inc. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)
FINANCIAL SERVICES WRAP
Debt: Payday loans were a growing factor in personal insolvencies in Ontario for the sixth consecutive year in 2017, despite recent provincial regulatory changes to curb borrowing rates and improve disclosures by lenders. Story (Janet McFarland, for subscribers)
Listings: A new stock listing in Canada will soon give investors their first chance to buy into the booming market for computer chips driving most of the world's bitcoin mining farms. Story
Online trading: Jittery investors and their smartphones stressed out leading U.S. online financial sites last week as heavy volatility shook markets, technology analysts said. Story
Regulators: Deutsche Bank AG will pay nearly US$4.5-million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges that it failed to police traders and salespeople who lied to customers about bond prices, the regulator said on Monday. Story
Diversity: Britain's two biggest banks have set targets for ethnic minority representation in top roles after criticism of some of the country's largest companies for being opaque about diversity. Story
DEAL WRAP
Oilpatch: Suncor Energy Ltd. continued to consolidate its interest in Syncrude Canada's oilsands mining operations on Thursday, announcing it would buy the five per cent stake owned since 1991 by Mocal Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan-based conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. Story
Takeover criticism: Xerox Corp shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason strongly criticized the printer and copier maker's plan to sell itself to Japan's Fujifilm Holdings , saying the transaction "dramatically undervalues" Xerox. Story
Tech sector: Qualcomm Inc and Broadcom Ltd plan to meet on Wednesday to talk about the latter's US$121-billion acquisition offer, the first time the semiconductor companies will discuss the potential deal, people familiar with the matter said. Story
Media sector: Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox said it would commit to maintain Sky News in Britain for at least five years and would establish an independent board for the channel to try to secure its takeover of pay-TV operator Sky. Story
Media sector: Comcast Corp is considering a new offer for Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox assets, despite an agreement in December to sell them to Walt Disney Co for US$52.4-billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Story
Private equity: Marc Anthony Cosmetics Ltd., a portfolio company of TA Associates, has acquired Toronto based Cake Beauty Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed. Private Capital Journal
U.S. venture financing: Amazon.com Inc. is very serious about grocery delivery, but Instacart Inc., the most popular alternative for supermarket orders in the U.S., isn't rolling over. The San Francisco startup raised US$200 million in a round led by investment firms Coatue Management and Glade Brook Capital Partners, the company told Bloomberg on Monday. Bloomberg
U.S. venture financing: DataVisor, which provides fraud detection software, announced today that it has raised US$40 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital China. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and GSR Ventures also joined. VentureBeat
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