5 things that happened in the business world you should know about

Each week, we bring you a roundup of some of the biggest stories making headlines in the business world.

Here are five things that happened that you should know about:

Slowdown of Vancouver housing market cools Canadian home sales

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the Vancouver housing market has demonstrated three consecutive months of declining home sales. From June to July, home sales dropped approximately 1.3% nationally. Simultaneously, the foreign sales tax implications were seen in Metro Vancouver, where sales from June to July dropped 6.7%.

• Read more on BNN

Taxi owners pursue legal actions to withhold Uber from Ottawa

In preparation for the legalization of Uber, owners of taxi-plates in Ottawa are filing a class action lawsuit against the City of Ottawa for $215 million. The lawsuit was filed by Metro Taxi Ltd., a family with ownership of over 80 plates. Taxi-plate owners claim that the City did not enforce policy that would protect the financial value of the taxi-plates. Once Uber is legalized, the value of the taxi-plate will inevitably fall as riding-sharing services can operate without taxi-licenses.

• Read more on BNN

The Canadian dollar showing strong gains in July

The loonie has been hovering in the 78 cent zone, a value range it has not touched since June. The Canadian dollar has been up since the reports of exceeded expectations of manufacturing operations in Canada.

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Electric cars cover the bases for over 90% road travels

A study conducted by MIT indicated that on the average day, the immediate features of electric cars provide sufficient range for approximately 87% of automobile drivers in America. Electric cars still must progress in developing long-range batteries, as well as creating additional charging stations to ease re-charging.

• Read more on CNBC

How Usain Bolt built a business empire

The track and field mega-star impact in the marketing sector is just as tremendous as his role in the Olympics. Bolt has multi-million dollar sponsorships from Puma, Nissan (NSANF), Visa (V), and Hublot; while partnering with Gatorade to produce his own drink. The lively and engaging persona is what creates the strong connection between Bolt and his fans; spurring his entertainment value for corporations.

• Read more on CNN