What is slowing Canada’s economy down? What’s growing?
The manufacturing sector was the largest drag on the economy, followed by utilities, wholesale and trade and transportation and warehousing. The Stats Can report noted shutdowns at Canada’s two largest railways contributed to a decline in transportation and warehousing.
A preliminary estimate for September suggests real gross domestic product grew by 0.3%.
Statistics Canada’s estimate for the third quarter is weaker than the Bank of Canada’s projection of 1.5% annualized growth.
Are there more Bank of Canada rate cuts to come?
The latest economic figures suggest ongoing weakness in the Canadian economy, giving the central bank room to continue cutting interest rates. But the size of that cut is still uncertain, with lots more data to come on inflation and the economy before the Bank of Canada’s next rate decision on Dec. 11.
“We don’t think this will ring any alarm bells for the (Bank of Canada) but it puts more emphasis on their fears around a weakening economy,” TD economist Marc Ercolao wrote.
The central bank has acknowledged repeatedly the economy is weak and that growth needs to pick back up. Last week, the Bank of Canada delivered a half-percentage point interest rate cut in response to inflation returning to its 2% target.
Governor Tiff Macklem wouldn’t say whether the central bank will follow up with another jumbo cut in December and instead said the central bank will take interest rate decisions one a time based on incoming economic data.
The central bank is expecting economic growth to rebound next year as rate cuts filter through the economy.
Matt is joined by Lesley Goldberg, former TV editor of The Hollywood Reporter, to look at the most costly showrunner deals of the peak TV era and determine which were the best and worst deals for the respective studios. They discuss the nine-figure deals that led to zero new shows, and the biggest underperformers of Hollywood’s hyperinflated peak TV era (02:44).
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, What I’m Hearing …, click here.
Spring 2024 outlook on grocery food inflation for Canada
The outlook for food and beverage manufacturers this year is more positive than last year, FCC said, though some sectors still face headwinds amid elevated interest rates and tighter household budgets. “However, population growth and stabilizing—in some cases, falling—input costs are providing optimism for margin improvement for 2024.”
The organization’s annual food and beverage report offers up forecasts for consumer spending, as well as specific food items such as sugar and flour.
What is Canada’s inflation on food?
Canada’s annual inflation rate was 2.8% in February, and grocery prices were one of the main factors pushing it lower. Grocery inflation was 2.4% that month, down from 3.4% in January, as the cost of many items declined year over year. However, slowing inflation doesn’t mean prices overall are dropping. Statistics Canada noted in its latest inflation report that between February 2021 and February 2024, grocery prices rose 21.6%.
How are Canadians dealing with rising food prices?
As they grapple with higher prices, not just on food but on shelter and other daily costs, Canadians have been trying to cut back their spending on food and beverages, FCC said. They have been buying more items on sale, gravitating toward less expensive brands, buying more canned and frozen foods, shopping more at discount retailers and simply buying less food.
“Many consumers say the impact of high interest rates are just beginning to affect their spending,” FCC said.
As shoppers have become more price sensitive, FCC said processors have been responding by modifying package sizing and substituting less expensive inputs.
Canadians have also been cutting back on alcohol, the report said. It forecasts a decline in alcohol sales and manufacturing volumes this year.
Will food prices go down?
The report said some food products are expected to go down in price this year, such as flour, after a sharp increase over the last couple of years. This will translate to lower bakery and tortilla manufacturing selling prices by the end of the year.
Why is chocolate getting so expensive? A lot of ingredients go into a chocolate bar, including sugar and milk, but the one which gives chocolate its namesake—cocoa—is in particularly short supply at the moment.
Thanks to a combination of bad workplace conditions, climate change and insatiable global demand, cheap chocolate will be in very short supply, and experts aren’t sure when it’ll improve. Here’s how we got here, and how you might be able to get the most bang for your buck the next time you’re shopping for chocolate.
What makes cocoa so expensive?
Basically, there isn’t enough of it on the market. Over half of the world’s cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, is grown in just two West African countries—Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. If you count all countries in the West African “cocoa belt,” it comes out to around 80% of the world’s supply.
Most of the farmers growing this cocoa are very poorly paid, which has some seeking alternative sources of income for their land. According to a 2023 report from Corporate Accountability Lab on West Africa’s cocoa industry, hired workers in Côte d’Ivoire earn about USD$0.89 to USD$1.34 per day. Farmers sometimes cannot afford to hire paid help, and rely on family members to harvest their crops. To make extra money, farmers sometimes give their fields to illegal gold miners for cash, which degrades production.
To make matters worse, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are facing disastrous growing conditions for cocoa. Last year’s El Niño weather event left the West African region hotter than normal. Unpredictable rainfall mixed with dry spells is also wreaking havoc on cocoa tree growth. And swollen shoot disease, which destroys cocoa trees and is spread by insects, is getting worse in Côte d’Ivoire.
With the global market so dependent on this region, any disruptions mean rising cocoa prices. This week, the going rate for cocoa beans nearly hit USD$10,000 a ton on the New York Futures Exchange. (Futures are derivatives; they’re contracts to buy or sell an asset for a set price at a later date.) Just last summer, it was around USD$2,500 a tonne. And demand isn’t letting up. The global chocolate market is expected to grow by about 4% annually between 2024 and 2030, according to Grandview Research.
Canadian shoppers also have to deal with the various reasons why groceries are expensive—not just chocolate. Not only is Canada’s grocery market very concentrated, and therefore more vulnerable to price-fixing, but the sheer size of our country means it isn’t cheap for food suppliers to send their products to market.
Add all of these problems together, and Canadian chocolate shoppers will be hard-pressed to find any deals this year.
As we’ve been reporting on all the fun surrounding the Super Bowl and Taylor Swift‘s A-list squad, Blake Lively‘s AH-Mazing outfit didn’t go unnoticed by fans! The 36-year-old showed up to the big game alongside her BFF Tay and rapper Ice Spice to cheer on Travis Kelce. She came dressed to the nines with a gorg curly hair look and a super fun Adidas tracksuit in Kansas City Chiefs red — all paired together with some chunky gold jewelry that sparkled under the VIP suite lights.
The golden dazzlers weren’t just costume gems, though! Apparently Ryan Reynolds‘ wife dropped some SERIOUS dough on her bangle bracelets, thick chain necklace, and dangly earrings!!
At Allegiant Stadium, per Page Six, the actress and momma of four had a number of Tiffany and Elsa Peretti pieces on her. They included a silver chainlink necklace valued at $18,500, a gold graduated link necklace valued at $62,000, and a diamond pavé necklace worth the most at a whopping $78,000. That’s nearly $159,000 ON HER NECK ALONE!
Moving to her wrists, the Gossip Girl alum wore 14 different bracelets — with the cheapest one being well over a thousand dollars! She had on two link bracelets of the same design in different styles for $12,500 and $26,000 respectively, as well as a series of an Elsa Peretti cuff that goes for $12,300 and a doughnut bangle for $29,000. She stacked up two diamond and white gold bangles for $56,000 in total.
And if you thought she was done, you thought wrong! Her accessories continued with two Tiffany bangles valued at $7,500 and $7,800 — and she tacked on two diamond versions of those bangles as well for $27,000 and $39,000! Taking a break from all the gold jewels, Blake decided to mix in some silver with a $42,000 lock bangle, a half pavé white gold bangle for $17,000, and another Elsa Peretti knot bangle covered in diamonds which retails for $54,000.
The least expensive wrist accessory of the night was valued at $1,825 — being a simple sterling silver bangle — leaving the total value of her wrists alone at $304,925. WILD!!
Blake’s two sets of earrings were a simple pair of Tiffany Solitaire diamonds which retail for $1,650 and some Elsa Peretti snake danglers valued at around $4,000 — but to Swifties, that subtle nod to the forthcoming rerecording of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is priceless! Take all that together and The Shallows star wore $469,075 worth of jewelry on her person at the game. Nearly half a MILLION bucks worth of accessories all paired with a tracksuit! Iconic!
At least once per year we’re treated to incremental upgrades in headset designs from manufacturers like Razer, Steelseries, and HyperX. These improvements typically touch on some of the more objective points of their peripherals, like audio quality and battery life. However, the latest headset model from Logitech, the Astro A50X, is offering something a bit more drastic.
In addition to the same outstanding audio quality we’ve come to expect from Logitech headsets, the docking station for the A50X effectively serves as an HDMI switch, which not only makes the headset universally compatible, but allows you to quickly swap between HDMI inputs with a dedicated button on the headset. But, at an eye-watering $379.99, it’s difficult to recommend this headset to all but the most frequent of users.
The dock is an integral part of the A50X, but can take a while to get set up properlyImage: Logitech
The docking station is fitted with a pair of HDMI and USB-C inputs that can be used with PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles. You’ll also find another USB-C port that provides power and can also connect the dock to your PC. The single HDMI 2.1 output is capable of full 4K 120Hz passthrough to your preferred screen.
Setting up the entire system and getting its myriad cables organized required significant time investment, but I ultimately felt that was a small price to pay for a single unified headset that also allowed me to swap between the inputs on my TV. This is a pretty neat trick — however, the console will need to be powered on via its respective controller before you make the switch, in order for this to work properly.
Of course, if you’d prefer to skip the docking station entirely, you can also pair the A50X with your phone, Switch, or PlayStation via Bluetooth instead. You won’t be able to swap inputs, though.
A single button on the rear of the A50X lets you swap between inputsImage: Logitech
The sound quality of the Astro A50X is amazing regardless of which platform you’re playing on, with no noticeable latency when operating on 2.4 Ghz wireless. I tested the A50X with a pair of rhythm games that have excellent soundtracks, Hi-Fi Rush and Metal: Hellsinger, on both PC and Xbox. The A50X had no issues matching the gameplay beat for beat, which is something my reliable noise-canceling earbuds just couldn’t match. The default sound profile is a little bass-heavy, but you can fine-tune everything from the Logitech G app on your phone or PC.
The Logitech G App is available on PC and Mobile platforms to fine-tune your audio profileImage: Logitech
The fit and finish of the Astro A50X will be familiar to anyone who’s used a headset from the Astro A50 or A40 series. The ear cushions and headband feature plush fabric, and the headset can lay flat around your neck when not in use. The surface of the right earcup allows you to adjust the balance between game and chat volume. Around the back of the right earcup, you’ll find a volume wheel, power and input switches, and a Bluetooth pairing button.
The aesthetics of the A50X aren’t quite as offensive as some more gamer-centric designs, but it still isn’t what I’d call a good-looking headset. A bit less plastic in the overall build, and the ability to remove the boom mic would’ve been welcome. Normally, these are annoyances that I’m willing to overlook, but for $380, I do expect more.
While Logitech’s designers have clearly gone to great lengths to expand the functionality of this headset, they haven’t done much to improve the fit and finish, which is disappointing given the massive price tag. At $380, small issues like the plastic-heavy design, and how the headset doesn’t always want to seat itself in the dock correctly, feel more glaring.
I applaud Logitech for producing a headset with features that genuinely improve user experience, but its high price and limited appeal make it extremely difficult to recommend. For a select subset of people who play games and chat regularly across multiple platforms that share the same screen, the A50X represents a sound investment, but for everyone else, a headset that costs a third of the price will do just fine.
AUSTIN, TX – Texas Pets Alive!, Austin Pets Alive!’s advocacy arm, is excited to announce that House Bill 2510, introduced by Representative Candy Noble (R-District 89), will ensure no nonprofit animal rescue will have taxes imposed on adoption fees. HB 2510 is a companion bill to SB 197, filed by Senator Jane Nelson (R-District 12).
Texas Pets Alive! works to promote and advocate for those rescue and shelter organizations that save the most at-risk companion animals in Texas, understanding that rescues across the state often pull homeless pets with expensive medical cases from municipal and county shelters, and cover the costs for those procedures, saving taxpayer money and saving lives.
“I’m proud to carry House Bill 2510. Families who are willing to open their homes to unwanted animals through pet adoption should be applauded by Texans, not taxed by the state,” said Representative Candy Noble. “The efforts of those who work in our rescue and shelter organizations should be rightly focused on the care and placement of the pets, not in the collection and paperwork associated with sales tax receipts.”
HB 2510 clarifies that rescues are exempt in statute from the Texas Comptroller’s Office imposing taxes on adoption fees. The Comptroller’s office has reviewed this legislation and determined that the bill can be administered as written.
“Rescue organizations are a lifeline for large municipal and county shelters, and ensure that animals have more options for leaving the shelter alive,” said Katie Jarl Coyle, Executive Director of Texas Pets Alive!. “Providing this sales tax relief for local organizations ensures they can easily continue to support shelters by pulling the most expensive animals and recouping fees for those costs through adoptions.”
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