“I haven't laughed so much over anything since the hogs ate my kid brother.” ― Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest

Crime novelist Dashiell Hammett was born on this day in 1894. Renowned for his biting wit, the author of The Maltese Falcon worked at Pinkerton’s detective agency. He used his experiences to create a laconic style that was echoed by writers such as Raymond Chandler. Hammett was romantically involved for almost three decades with playwright Lillian Hellman, who wrote The Children’s Hour and The Little Foxes.

We won’t have too many foxes or pigs on BNN today (quiet down in the back there) but DNA-tweaked fish come up on Commodities at 11:30AM ET. Canada has approved AquaBounty Technologies’ genetically modified salmon for retail sale and University of Guelph professor Sylvain Charlebois will explain some of the implications.

He wrote last year that “because of its undisputed nutritional virtues, this is good news for anyone seeking a better diet,” But, he notes, GM food remains controversial. “In a world in which risk perceptions reign supreme…One mistake AquaBounty can avoid is to engage with consumers as soon as possible and not wait until consumers revolt.”

Perceptions count for Canada’s banks, which irk customers when they hike fees. With a slower economy and the energy slump biting into business, they may be tempted to increase those niggling charges. At 12:30PM ET, we’ll hear from Jim Miller, senior director of banking at J.D. Power, who says that despite a common view that the banks are a cozy oligopoly, the emergence of new financial service providers means that consumers have more options that they think.

Valeant shares climbed more than 8 per cent in New York after-hours trading. The Wall St. Journal says it “received a joint takeover approach this spring from Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and private-equity firm TPG that the beleaguered drug maker rejected, according to people familiar with the matter.”

Story lines we’ll be pursuing today: After a stock slide of more than 80 per cent in a year, how much of a premium would a buyer have to offer? And would the purchase of the high-profile firm be approved by Ottawa?

Valeant has admitted some its accounting is iffy, a problem that could also afflict Chinese ecommerce empire Alibaba.

Reuters says the company, “which disclosed it is under investigation for its accounting practices, has emerged as one of the short-selling community's favorite targets.”

The stock is down 15 per cent in a year, trading at $78.34 versus the 2014 IPO price of $68. John Hempton of Bronte Capital, one of the misery-guts betting against the company, says Alibaba is "a real company" but "with questionable accounts."

We’re getting into wedding season and the dilemma of gift giving. There’s advice at 3:20PM ET from Emily Oster, associate professor of economics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She says “the most efficient gift to give is cash.” And don’t try to get too creative” “If they did not register for a vegetable spiralizer, it is because they do not want one.”

Weddings can be emotionally fraught affairs… and we’re bemused the soap opera that’s blown up around PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel. He has apparently admitted spending US$10-million funding legal campaigns against the media organization Gawker Media (of alleged Rob Ford crack video fame) including one by former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape.

Business Insider says Thiel was upset about a 2007 article in Gawker’s Valleywag publication about his being gay but “spending years looking for people who have potential grievances against a publication, then secretly funding their lawsuits, is not consistent with the principles of free expression.”

It says Mark Zuckerberg should kick Thiel off Facebook’s board.

That’s all for now. Stay out of trouble this weekend, especially if you’re out in the bush.

Or as Dashiell Hammett would say: “It's sometimes better to pretend I don't hear the sound of somebody in the nearby woods with a shotgun.”

Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins.