Toronto, Ontario — August 19, 2019 — In this week’s Tuesday Ticker: Ford acquires a business that made it big with robotic warfare technology, Boyd Group investors accept some big news and British Columbians find themselves out of pocket on insurance premiums.
Ford’s Big Buy
Ford has purchased Quantum Signal, a Michigan-based company that has designed robots for military applications.
In the 2000s, Quantum Signal developed software that allowed U.S. military personnel to control robotic vehicles overseas remotely.
The investment is just the latest acquisition Ford has made to reach its goal of being the first OEM to offer consumer-ready autonomous vehicles.
Recently, Ford announced that its vehicles will not require a driver by 2021.
To reach this goal, Ford is investing in advanced algorithms, 3-D mapping, radar technology and camera sensors.
It is also working on collaborative research with a number of autonomous companies, including Velodyne, SAIPS, Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC and Civil Maps.
Boyd Investors Unfazed
Boyd Group Income Fund investors appear to be comfortable with news that long-serving CEO Bob Bulbuck will be passing his role to the current president and chief operating officer Tim O’Day at the beginning of 2020.
Bulbuck, who had served in the role since 2011, saw the company’s stock value steadily increase in value–from around $14-per-share to an all-time high of $181.00 on August 8, 2019.
On August 13, when the Winnipeg-based firm announced the transition, stocks sat at $177.44. Over the next two days, the stocks dipped slightly, sitting at $171.38 at the opening bell of August 15, where they proceded to rise to $175.31.
Western Woes
Drivers in British Columbia pay the highest auto insurance premiums in Canada, a new study from the General Insurance Statistical Agency has found.
Drivers in Canada’s westernmost province pay premiums that average out to $1,832.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says that the high rates are the result of B.C.’s public auto insurance system. In a comparison between the frequency of collisions, legal fees and payouts in B.C. and in Alberta, the think tank found the numbers to be comparable in all areas, save in premium costs. Alberta drivers pay about $500 less per year than B.C. drivers.
