With the cost of living consistently on the rise, more Canadians are continually turning to credit. Canadian’s owe more debt relative to their income than they did before Justin Trudeau and his liberals came to power in 2015.

Many Canadians are on the verge of going bankrupt due to increased debt carrying costs, living expenses, and concerns about the possibility of further interest rate and price increases.

Higher interest rates may have deterred Canadians from borrowing, but they remain optimistic. I’m hoping that interest rates will be reduced and the debt they’re collecting will become more affordable.

According to Bank of Canada data, household credit increased in February and has accelerated slightly since then. This raises some concerns for the country, which is already experiencing slowing economic growth as a result of its enormous debt levels.

Canadian households have recently reduced their borrowing, yet they have nonetheless accrued a significant amount of debt. Household debt increased by 0.3% (+$10.1 billion) to $2.94 trillion in February.

This boosted yearly growth to 3.4% (+$96.1 billion), marking the fourth consecutive month of acceleration.

Canadians Under Mountains of Household Debt

The roughly $3 trillion in debt sounds monstrous, and it is. Between March 2020 and the most recent figures, consumers added $541 billion to their debt load. After just under four years, accumulation was 50% faster than in the years prior rate reduction.

According to the most recent data, Canada’s household debt-to-GDP ratio was around 132% in February. Statistics Canada announced Wednesday that Canada has the highest household debt-to-disposable income ratio of any G7 countries.

According to Canada’s 2023 Financial Stress Index, money is the top stressor for Canadians, with 40% citing it as their primary source of stress, surpassing personal health, relationships, and job for the sixth year in a row.

And financial problems are affecting people’s quality of life and sleep.

Leger’s poll of more than 2,000 Canadians discovered that 48% of adults had lost sleep and 36% have experienced mental health issues as a result of financial stress. Nearly half of poll respondents (48%) reported having less disposable income than a year ago.

According to writer and political commentator David Moscrop, Canada’s housing problem is unprecedented, and half the country lives paycheck to paycheck.

In a classic example of disconnect, some Trudeau Liberals believe the party’s biggest problem is that people don’t realize how terrific a job they’re doing.

According to Moscrop, half of the country is living paycheck to paycheck, suffering from crippling debt, and dealing with a housing and homelessness crisis, while working families are increasingly reliant on food banks to get by.

Inflation and Interest Rates Rising

More than half of Canadians feel their personal finances are worse now than they were in 2015, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to support the middle class and those aspiring to it.

A jump in inflation, and the interest-rate hikes intended to combat it, have pinched deeply indebted Canadians, who have also stated that the high cost of living is the most important factor influencing how they intend to vote.

According to a Nanos Research study for Bloomberg News, 53% of people say their personal finances are worse now than they were eight years ago, while 24% say they are better off and 21% say nothing has changed.

Those aged 35 to 54 were the most likely to be experiencing financial difficulties, with 61% reporting a worsening situation.

The poll explains why Trudeau’s government is finishing the year with low ratings. “When the economy is flat and people are concerned about paying their bills, they become agitated and seek to punish the incumbent government,” said Nik Nanos, the polling firm’s chief data scientist. “If you are struggling to pay for housing or the groceries, you might think, ‘What do I have to lose with a change in government?'”

If an election were conducted today, over 45% of Canadians indicated the cost of living, including housing, groceries, and energy costs, would be the most important factor influencing their vote. The environment (14%) and health care (12%) are next on the list.

Between November 30 and December 2, Nanos conducted a telephone and online poll of 1,069 Canadians. The margin of error is 3 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

Soaring Inflation in Canada

In Canada, inflation is certainly easing. It remained constant at 3.1% annually in November, down from 8.1% in June 2022. While this is improvement, it is cold consolation for some Canadian households, which have experienced one of the most precipitous declines in purchasing power in history.

According to Bloomberg calculations, Canada’s consumer price index is 10% higher than it would have been if inflation had remained at its pre-pandemic pace. Shelter and food inflation are both roughly 14% higher.

Prices rose at an annual rate of roughly 1.8% during the time the Bank of Canada introduced inflation targeting in the early 1990s and 2020.

According to the central bank, property prices in Canada have not been this high since the early 1980s.

Though an election isn’t due until 2025, Trudeau’s biggest adversary, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, has launched campaign-style advertising attacking the prime minister for rising housing, food, and energy costs. “After eight years, Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost,” Poilievre frequently states.

Majority of Canadians Can’t Afford a Home

Despite a rush of affordability announcements from Trudeau’s Liberals, including a $4-billion fund for cities to develop housing and competition-law revisions aimed at decreasing supermarket prices, most polls place the Tories roughly 10 points ahead.

“The Conservative party continues to vote against funding for housing,” Trudeau said Thursday in Toronto, where he unveiled $471 million to accelerate home building. “If it were up to them, we wouldn’t be here today.” But our Liberal strategy is to collaborate with municipalities. Our strategy is to invest in individuals. It is to invest for the future.”

Trudeau is not alone in facing an angry electorate frustrated by the loss of purchasing power. Many US voters do not appear to be buying President Joe Biden’s economic message, despite the fact that price rises have slowed since last year.

“Inflation kills governments,” said Mike Moffatt, senior policy director at the Smart Prosperity Institute and Trudeau’s former economic adviser from 2013 to 2015.

Moffatt stated in an interview that U.S. President Jimmy Carter lost his campaign for a second term by a landslide in 1980 when the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates to combat inflation.

In the midst of recent price increases, voters in Australia and New Zealand ousted their incumbent administrations, and the ruling Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is now polling poorly.

“There is unrest. “People see costs going up and up, but they don’t see their paychecks going up,” he said. “It’s going to be a very difficult thing for the federal government to deal with because so many of these factors are global in nature.”

Bumble, a dating app that revolutionized the industry a decade ago by introducing the concept of women initiating talks, is now allowing males to engage in chats on its platform.

Bumble is introducing a new tool dubbed “opening moves” that allows female users to establish a prompt for male suitors to reply to to start a conversation. The function overturns the app’s long-standing mandate that women initiate the first message to their matches. Bumble claims this change empowers women by granting them greater control over their dating experiences.

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Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

Lidiane Jones, the new CEO of Bumble, unveiled the new feature on Tuesday as part of a comprehensive app redesign. Jones took over the reins from creator Whitney Wolfe Herd earlier this year. This decision comes at a time when dating apps are striving to maintain their relevance as some users are feeling fatigued from online dating and are craving more in-person interactions.

Jones perceives the Bumble redesign as an opportunity for the platform to respond effectively to the current situation.

“There is an increasing demand for genuine human connections,” Jones stated in an interview with CNN before to the launch. “I expect that the number of people using online dating will increase rather than decrease, but there is a higher standard…” Therefore, focusing our attention on our objective is a significant call to action.

According to Jones, adding the new “opening moves” feature is a means by which Bumble is progressing while remaining faithful to its initial objective of empowering women. Now, female users can either keep starting discussions with their matches or establish an initial move, such as asking a question about their match’s ideal dinner guest, to indicate that they prefer their match to make the first contact. (Non-binary users or those interested in same-gender pairings have the option for either person to initiate and reply to an initial action.)

Bumble’s makeover incorporates enhanced “dating intentions” badges that enable users to specify on their profiles whether they are seeking a “life partner” or simply “fun, casual dates.” Bumble has implemented a new policy mandating members to provide more photographs in their biographies.

Medium – VOR News Image

Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

The application will prioritize and emphasize shared interests at the beginning of potential matches’ profiles to facilitate connections between individuals and increasing the likelihood of finding compatible companions.

The modifications have the potential to be crucial in restoring Bumble’s profitability, as the company, which also possesses dating applications Badoo and Fruitz, recorded a net loss of $1.9 million in the previous year. The company’s stock price has experienced a significant decline of 86% since its first public offering in February 2021.

According to Wall Street experts, Bumble is projected to profit $12 million for the first quarter of this year when it releases its earnings on May 8. This is a significant improvement from the $2.3 million loss recorded during the same time last year. The company anticipates a 14% increase in paying consumers, reaching over 3.9 million.

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Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

“We are extremely fortunate to possess robust financials that enable us to invest in the company’s expansion while also ensuring profitability for our shareholders,” Jones stated. “We are currently at a significant turning point where we have achieved a substantial level of growth and have ample opportunities for further expansion. At this juncture, we can effectively pursue both objectives simultaneously.”

SOURCE – (CNN)

TikTok is currently confronting a profound and fundamental dilemma in the United States. If the app’s Chinese owner does not successfully sell it within the next year or so, it could be prohibited in its largest market.

This would significantly hinder China’s technological aspirations and exacerbate the separation between two distinct digital realms that revolve around competing economic superpowers.

ByteDance may be required to sell TikTok in order to avoid a nationwide ban under the legislation that Congress approved on Tuesday. President Joe Biden is anticipated to officially approve the bill on Wednesday; TikTok has already expressed its intention to contest the law through legal means.

Beijing has expressed significant opposition to a compulsory divestiture of TikTok and has amended its export control regulations to grant itself the authority to prohibit a sale based on national security concerns. ByteDance has limited choices to ensure TikTok’s future in the US, its largest market with 170 million users.

“The compelled divestiture of TikTok in the United States would result in a devaluation of the application, as the Chinese government will not authorize the transfer of its algorithms,” stated Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation and a lecturer at the Business School of the National University of Singapore.

He stated, “Should TikTok be compelled to cease operations in the United States, ByteDance’s prospects in other predominantly liberal democracies will face additional scrutiny.”

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Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide

The sale can be completely prevented if the Chinese government refuses to allow ByteDance to give over TikTok’s algorithm. Alternatively, it may enable the sale of TikTok without including the highly profitable algorithm that is the foundation for its widespread appeal.

The United States’ imposition of a ban or the implementation of a diminished iteration of TikTok would result in a significant financial gain.

Capri stated that YouTube, Google, Instagram, and other TikTok rivals may experience a significant loss of customers. Furthermore, this would significantly impede ByteDance’s global aspirations.

“A TikTok ban would signal that the Chinese government prioritizes the security of the algorithm over ByteDance’s financial success and global growth, ultimately putting an end to ByteDance’s worldwide expansion,” stated Richard Windsor, a tech industry analyst and the founder of Radio Free Mobile, a US-based research company.

“The consequences suggest that the ideological conflict occurring in the technology industry will escalate.”

Capri suggests that a ban on TikTok is expected to expedite a division in the global technology industry, creating two distinct factions: one oriented around the United States and the other supporting Chinese technology.

“The action taken against TikTok in the United States represents not only a division between Chinese and Western applications in the platform economy, but also a broader division in the global technology landscape,” he stated.

“This encompasses various aspects such as the ownership and operation of data centers, the presence of internet satellites in space, the existence of undersea cables, and, naturally, the production of semiconductors.”

From that perspective, the TikTok ban has a positive aspect for Beijing.

“The imposition of a ban in the United States will trigger renewed endeavors to expand China’s digital influence in Southeast Asia, as well as other predominantly emerging markets across the globe,” stated Capri.

Rising difficulties faced by Chinese applications

The TikTok legislation was incorporated into a comprehensive foreign aid package aimed at assisting Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

After President Biden’s approval, ByteDance will be given a maximum of one year to finalize the sale, or the platform will be subjected to a practical prohibition.

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Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide

US officials and politicians have consistently voiced apprehensions regarding TikTok’s potential national security hazards, such as the possibility of data sharing with the Chinese government or the manipulation of platform content. However, TikTok has refuted the allegations.

Paul Triolo, partner for China and Technology Policy Lead at Albright Stonebridge Group, stated that the new divestiture bill is a direct outcome of a well-coordinated lobbying campaign by Silicon Valley venture capitalists affiliated with US technology companies. These companies are expected to gain advantages from the narrative of the China threat that the bill’s supporters have been promoting.

According to him, Chinese enterprises and apps operating in the US are encountering increasing difficulties.

The Biden administration is strengthening a recently established office within the Commerce Department to enforce the conditions of a regulation implemented during the Trump era. This rule safeguards US information technology supply chains, particularly linked apps. This rule may also be utilized to advocate for additional limitations.

“Triolo stated that it is improbable for Congress to specifically target another Chinese company, such as TikTok, in a particular bill. However, the Commerce IT supply chain rule could potentially be utilized in the future to restrict the access of Chinese companies and apps to certain segments of the US market,” Triolo explained.

Can we expect a retaliatory response from Beijing?

The Commerce Ministry of China has committed to implementing all “essential actions” to safeguard its interests following the approval of a previous iteration of the TikTok bill by the House of Representatives last month. However, it did not provide further details.

On Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, responded to a question from CNN’s Marc Stewart by stating, “Regarding the TikTok issue, we have already expressed our position clearly, and I have no additional comments to make today.”

The Chinese government has already prohibited using most American social networking applications. Presently, Beijing restricts access to most US social media platforms, including Google, YouTube, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. This is due to their non-compliance with the Chinese government’s regulations regarding data collecting and the nature of shared content.

Triolo anticipates that Beijing will not respond with a significant level of intensity to the US prohibition on TikTok.

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Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide

“Beijing has expressed its opposition to any compulsory sale of TikTok US by Bytedance, but its main concern lies in the transfer of technology,” he stated. “Broadly speaking, Beijing places significantly less importance on a social media company compared to its concerns regarding US technology regulations.”

“Beijing is highly likely to respond with strong retaliation to new US export controls, but it is unlikely to reciprocate if the US eventually attempts to ban TikTok in the US,” he added.

Beijing recently instructed Apple (AAPL) to eliminate social messaging applications WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram from its China app store. However, the Chinese government has yet to take significant actions to suppress virtual private networks (VPNs), which technologically adept Chinese individuals commonly utilize to interact with friends overseas through messaging applications.

“The timing of the move was probably intended to demonstrate China’s ongoing commitment to blocking certain apps that it deems a threat to national security. However, it is worth noting that the number of users of the blocked apps in China is significantly lower than the approximately 170 million TikTok users in the United States,” Triolo stated.

SOURCE – (CNN)