Keep it in cheque

Good morning. A 4K restoration of Mad Men (the GOAT scripted TV show in this writer’s opinion) began streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. this week. But fans who wanted to see Don Draper in crisper detail than ever also saw goofs as HBO uploaded the wrong 4K file.

One hiccup that went mega-viral was a scene where one character is vomiting and, just off to the side, a crew member can be seen operating a fake puke machine. Someone needs to track down that guy — we’d love to know how he nabbed the coveted puke machine gig. 

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Markets: RBC continued the hot start to Canada’s bank earnings season yesterday after beating analyst estimates on the strength of its capital markets and wealth management wings. Meanwhile, Canada’s main stock index rose, getting a boost from higher oil prices.

A silent but deadly budget killer is starting to be reined in. 

Driving the news: Starting this month, all of Canada’s Big Six banks will begin offering low-cost chequing accounts that will cost a max of $4 per month, a move to appease Ottawa’s push for lower banking fees. 

Why it matters: The average Canadian forks over an estimated $250 in banking fees every year just to access their money. Compared to other G7 countries, that’s a pretty raw deal. 

Zoom out: Digital-first banks like Wealthsimple and Questrade have pitched their services as low-cost alternatives to the fees charged by the Big Six, a message people are receptive to. One survey found that over half of Canadians have switched financial institutions because of increasingly high fees. 

Bottom line: Account fees charged by Canadian banks hit $6 billion last quarter — up 267% from 30 years ago — and now make up a significant portion of lenders’ revenue. Even with some fees coming down, don’t expect to stop finding random charges in your monthly statement.—LA

Ottawa sends early retirement details to nearly 70,000 public servants. In a push to trim the federal workforce, 68,000 public servants have been sent info on how to apply for the feds’ early retirement program. Ottawa is aiming to cut 40,000 public sector jobs from a peak of 368,000 in 2023, and wants to do so largely through attrition rather than laying off younger workers. Federal employees as young as 50 could be eligible for the program. 

EQ Bank is buying PC Financial from Loblaw for an estimated $800 million. EQB, the parent company of Equitable Bank, will acquire all of PC Financial’s products (including the PC Mastercard) and become the exclusive financial partner of the PC Optimum loyalty program.

Meta poaches Apple’s top designer. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has continued hired Alan Dye, who’s been in charge of Apple’s user interface design for the last decade. Meta is looking to make a major push into the consumer device space and will task Dye with overseeing their hardware product studio. 

Canadians were (slightly) more productive last quarter. Go ahead and give yourself a little pat on the back. Labour productivity at Canadian businesses jumped by 0.9% in the third quarter, nearly double economists’ projections.

Canada commits over $200 million in military funding for Ukraine. The federal government has agreed to buy military equipment through a program that the U.S. insisted be set up to more evenly share the financial responsibility of arming Ukraine.

Timmies is pressing for more foreign workers. The restaurant chain was reportedly lobbying Ottawa for over 18 months to raise its cap on the share of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) businesses can hire to 30%.

CNN partnered with a prediction market. The network has struck a deal with Kalshi to use its prediction market data during live programming, because what could possibly be more exciting than the 9 p.m. news showing you the live betting odds of a catastrophic global event?

For Switzerland, luring wealthy foreigners is as proud a part of its cultural heritage as Alpine skiing, masterfully made timepieces, and Toblerone. 

Driving the news: Switzerland kept its status as a haven for the ultra-rich after voters emphatically rejected a proposal to boost the federal inheritance and gift tax by 50%. The measure, defeated by a margin of ~79%, targeted estates and transfers over £47 million.

Big picture: The Swiss referendum is part of a wider debate countries are having about tax breaks for the wealthy as income inequality continues to climb. The shifting sands of tax reform have led to record millionaire migration numbers — according to Henley’s annual report, 142,000 millionaires globally were projected to relocate in 2025, and 162,000 in 2026. 

Why it matters: Welcoming the ultra-rich is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they tend to buy lots of stuff and drive up economic activity. On the other hand, the cost of living tends to go up wherever they roam. And as for taxes, they can be a strong part of the tax base… when they actually pay up.—QH 

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🛍️ 33%. Share of Black Friday deals in Canada that were actually more expensive than the lowest price offered earlier this year, according to an analysis by Visualping. On average, these fake or misleading deals carried price tags that were about 37% higher than that product’s lowest recorded price.

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