Microsoft has plans to open first international location in time for the holidays. The store will be in Toronto's Yorkdale Mall and will hopefully be open by the middle of November. Microsoft also announced plans to open four pop-up holiday stores on Oct. 26. The four locations are Eaton Centre in Toronto, Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, Oakridge Centre in Vancouver, and West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton.  (Source challenbuzz.ca)

Alberta retail sales at highest year-over-year growth rate in Canada. For the month of July, sales were just over $5.7 billion, a 9.2 percent raise from July of 2011. The were also up 1.4 percent from the previous month. Across the entire country, retail sales rose .7 percent and year-over-year sales were up 3 percent. (Source calgaryherald.com)


Organized crime behind fake pills entering Canada. Canadian border officials and police warn that organized crime is threatening the health of those who have purchased counterfeit prescriptions through the mail. Officials say they've seized thousands of fake prescription pills worth more than $1 million as part of an international operation targeting criminal groups. Most of the drugs are purchased through companies selling pharmaceuticals over the internet. (Source cbc.ca)