Vol. 1 · No. 008Saturday, October 3, 2026Richmond Hill, Ontario · Free
Economics and AIDaily and weekly
The economy and AI, explained before school.
One topic a morning. What actually moved, why it matters to someone who is not a fund manager, and what to watch next. Sent about 7:00 AM Eastern in English or Chinese.
Free. No spam. One click to leave, and you can change language or frequency from any email.
Written by Joseph LeungGrade 11, Richmond Hill. Three-time national team chess champion. Reads the filings so you do not have to.
Daily.BriefMay 25
Global#004Richmond Hill
Bank of Canada holds at 2.5% and says tariffs cut both ways
Cuts on hold while the trade dispute pushes prices up and exports down.
GTA rents fall for a fourth straight quarter
TSMC Arizona yields close in on Taiwan
Youth unemployment stays above 14%
Economics and AIBefore school
Daily.BriefJune 1
Work#005Richmond Hill
Frontier model prices fall another 40% as labs chase volume
The cheapest usable model now costs cents per million tokens.
Ten-year yields drift higher on deficit math
Mexico overtakes China as top US supplier
Steel tariffs land on Hamilton mills
Economics and AIBefore school
Daily.BriefJune 8
Economics#006Richmond Hill
Ontario factories wait on the CUSMA review
Investment announcements, not speeches, will say who wins the consolidation fight.
Entry-level postings still a third below 2022
Export controls extend to third-country data centres
Fourplex zoning clears Toronto council
Economics and AIBefore school
Daily.BriefJune 15
Global#007Richmond Hill
Canada's productivity gap widens for a sixth year
Output per hour trails the US by close to 30%. AI raises the ceiling; habits keep firms under it.
Fixed mortgage rates stall near 4%
Reserve managers keep trimming dollar share
Auto parts cross the border seven times
Economics and AIBefore school
Daily.BriefJune 22
AI#008Richmond Hill
Open-weight models close to within six months of the frontier
The money is in running them well, not in the weights.
Nvidia margins hold above 70%
Firms pair juniors with seniors from day one
CMHC: 3.5 million homes short by 2030
Economics and AIBefore school
Latest weekly issue
The long read.
Once a week, one topic gets the full treatment: four sections, a chart, and a position I am willing to defend. The daily brief lands in your inbox; the weekly issues live here.
Daily.Brief#008 · June 22, 2026
Open weights versus closed labs, as an economics question
Every few months a lab releases a model anyone can download and run. Every few months a different lab argues that this is reckless, or unsustainable, or both. Strip out the safety debate and what is left is a pricing question, and pricing questions have answers.
I write this before school. Here is why it is worth your five minutes.
Most coverage of AI is either a press release or a panic. I read the earnings calls, the central bank statements, and the model release notes, then write down what actually changed and why it matters to someone who is not a fund manager. Five minutes, no jargon, one clear take.
I am Joseph Leung, 16 and in Grade 11. Chess taught me to sit with a position until I understand it, and that is the whole method here. If a claim will not survive a second look, it does not go in.
Chess
Three-time national team champion. Competed at the national level before retiring from tournament play (FIDE, CFC).
School
Grade 11, York Region District School Board.
Ambition
Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto, then build companies. This newsletter is the first one.
This brief
Written every morning, sent about 7:00 AM Eastern, in English and Simplified Chinese. More about me
02
Topics
What I cover.
The same handful of beats, followed closely enough to notice when something actually changes. Pick one to filter the archive.