Second Canadian may be held in China; some Toronto councils say no to pot retailers, and more top news

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A second Canadian may have been detained in China, says Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland — just days after Beijing’s detention of former diplomat Michael Kovrig. The Globe and Mail reports that Michael Spavor, whose company Paektu Cultural Exchange brings tourists and hockey players into North Korea, has gone missing in China, where he lives. Spavor was behind former NBA player Dennis Rodman’s visit to North Korea. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Two major Toronto-area municipalities will prevent private storefronts from selling cannabis — Mississauga City Council, which voted 10-2 in favour of opting out of allowing marijuana retailers, and Markham city councillors, which also voted 12-1 against allowing cannabis retail. Municipalities have been given until Jan. 22 to decide if they will permit cannabis stores in their areas. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is expected to begin accepting applications for cannabis retail stores next week. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Vancouver entrepreneur Lisa Shields is starting a new financial-technology venture with JPMorgan Chase. Shields was chief executive of Hyperwallet Systems, the international payments platform which was bought by PayPal for $400-million in one of the largest tech acquisitions in recent Canadian history. Her new venture, FI.SPAN, has already built partnerships with four of the top 20 U.S. commercial banks. JPMorgan Chase is the first partner FI.SPAN is revealing publicly. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Despite Netflix’s big push into original content over the past two years, its subscribers still prefer movies and television series coming from external studios. Licensed content was responsible for 63% of Netflix viewing in October, compared to 37% for Netflix’s original content, according to 7Park Data. The NBC series The Office is Netflix’s most-viewed series, followed by the seminal sitcom Friends, among others. Netflix will rely less on licensed series from next year as deals with a handful of studios expire and Disney launches its new streaming service. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Procter & Gamble wants to serve more African-Americans with health and beauty products and is acquiring startup Walker & Co. Brands to do so, according to The Wall Street Journal. Walker sells Bevel grooming products for men and Form Beauty products for women; founder and chief executive Tristan Walker will continue to lead the wholly owned subsidiary of P&G. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: When starting a new business, be careful about taking on more liabilities prematurely, says Lisa Unwin, founder of She's Back.

“I’ve just seen a fabulous business, run by two amazing, energetic, committed women, go to the wall because they ran up too many debts before the cash came in. I believe the term is overtrading. Don’t do it.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

— Jessica Hartogs and Carmel Melouney