Here’s what happened in tech yesterday.

1. Champagne says Thursday’s budget is “about entrepreneurs”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told a Canadian Club of Toronto audience that the federal budget, due Thursday, “is a budget about entrepreneurs,” BetaKit reports. He promised to simplify life for small and medium-sized businesses and hinted at changes to the SR&ED research tax credit that “go beyond” last year’s expansion. He didn’t give specifics. Business groups have asked for a lower small business tax rate and capital-gains breaks for startup investors.

Why it matters: SR&ED is the main federal tax credit for research and development, and many Canadian tech companies use it. We’ll have the tech measures on Thursday.

2. RBC, TD, CIBC and BMO block personal AI agents

Four of Canada’s biggest banks say they’ll stop third-party personal AI agents, such as Meta’s Muse, from directly accessing customers’ online banking, CBC News reports. Scotiabank says it will limit them. “Clients should never share their TD log-in credentials, passwords, PINs or one-time passcodes with an AI agent or anyone else,” a TD spokesperson told CBC. The move follows an Axios report that big U.S. banks found unauthorized AI agents acting inside customer accounts.

Why it matters: If you’ve connected an AI assistant to your bank to track spending, expect it to stop working. The banks are saying no to agents for now, though TD says it wants to see “trusted” ones eventually. Read the full story

3. Apple posts a record September quarter and warns about memory costs

Apple’s revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 26 was $114.5 billion USD (about $160 billion CAD), up 12 per cent, in John Ternus’s first report as CEO. iPhone revenue rose 17 per cent to $57.6 billion USD (about $80.5 billion CAD), MacRumors reports. Apple expects its biggest quarter ever over the holidays, but says memory costs are “unprecedented” and will keep rising. It also says Macs and iPads will stay in short supply. Ternus told Reuters Apple can’t meet demand for the iPhone Duo and gave no date for when it will.

Why it matters: Apple raised prices in June and September, and it expects memory to keep getting more expensive. If you want an iPhone Duo or a new Mac for the holidays, order early.

4. Conservatives want the terms of Ottawa’s Cohere stake

Conservative MPs are pressing the government to disclose the terms of its investment of up to $1.6 billion in Cohere, including how big a stake Ottawa gets and what happens if Cohere is sold or misses its commitments, The Logic reports. The Canada Development Investment Corporation says it secured a “robust package” of terms but won’t share them. Separately, Cohere says it will invest more than $4 billion in Canadian R&D and AI infrastructure from 2024 through 2031 and have more than 1,500 jobs here by 2031. Read our story on the stake

Why it matters: It’s believed to be the largest federal equity investment ever in a single private tech company, MobileSyrup notes. AI Minister Evan Solomon has said it won’t be the last, so the terms matter beyond Cohere.

5. Microsoft’s software is still catching up to Western Canada’s clocks

Microsoft’s Outlook guidance says existing meetings may need to be moved to the new Canadian time zones, or they can show up an hour off from Nov. 1. Only organizers can fix shared meetings. The Register reports that Microsoft’s temporary workaround for some products is to set your location to Saskatchewan, Arizona or even Bogotá. Fixes for SharePoint are due Nov. 10, and one for Power Pages isn’t due until Dec. 12.

Why it matters: If you work in B.C., Alberta or Manitoba, check this week’s meeting times against the invite. Ask your IT team before changing time zones yourself, because the switch can scramble recurring meetings.

6. Scammers are ordering phones in your name

Thunder Bay Police warn about callers who pose as your cell provider and offer an upgrade or loyalty discount, then use your account details to order a real phone. When it arrives, they call back or wait for you to call, and give you a “return” label that sends the phone to them.

Why it matters: The scam works with any carrier. If a phone you didn’t order shows up, call your provider at the number on its website, not the number on the label or the one that called you.

One more thing

Fringed jumping spiders appear to have a REM-like sleep state, with twitching legs and moving retinas, University of Bonn researchers report in the journal PNAS, New Atlas reports. Whether they dream is another question. The study measured behaviour, not brain activity.

That’s the briefing. See you tomorrow.