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[ad_1] At MoneySense, money is always on our minds—even during the holiday season. For this year’s MoneySense gift guide, our editors and interns have chosen thoughtful presents that save money, store money (or crypto) and inspire good money habits. For the home chef: Planter and seeds  The cost-conscious cook in your life will appreciate the opportunity to have fresh herbs and greens while steering clear of the increasing food prices we’ve been seeing at grocers—and the feeling of accomplishment they’ll get from growing their own food is the gift that keeps on giving. We love that this planter is Canadian-made, it’s easy to use (the instructions promise no green thumbs required), it looks good near a window (even in a tiny condo), it’s affordable (under $40) and it includes four seeds of each: basil, arugula, lettuce and kale, as well as two bottles of plant nutrients. But, you can also add on other seeds, like for cucumber and strawberries. Just Vertical Seedling Kit, $39.99; four-pack of seeds, from $5.99.—Lisa Hannam For the traveller: Luggage backpack  Perfect for the avid traveller on your list, this carry-on bag includes a laptop sleeve and a large main compartment that opens like a suitcase. It has plenty of space for clothes, gadgets and personal care items. Plus, it’s compliant with the maximum overhead and under-seat baggage size requirements for Air Canada and other airlines, so your friend or family member can save on checked baggage fees. Choose from five colours. Hynes Eagle Weekender Carry-On Backpack, $72.99.—Margaret Montgomery For your picky partner: Sparkling-water maker We all know someone who, when given the choice, opts for sparkling water over still. A sparkling-water maker, such as SodaStream’s new Art model, can make the choice even easier for the right recipient. With its stylish new design and dishwasher-safe bottle, this machine helps eliminate the waste and costs that come with regularly buying bottled sparkling water. Also available: a wide selection of tasty flavour packs, like Pepsi and bubly. SodaStream Art starter pack, $169.99; flavours from $6.99.—Justin Dallaire For the book clubber: E-reader  Though an e-reader costs a bit of money up front, it saves space and money in the long run. Digital books are often much cheaper than print copies, plus your loved one can borrow e-books from the public library. The newest Kindle model has an upgraded high-resolution display, 16 GB of storage capacity, longer battery life and a new dark mode for easy reading indoors and outdoors and at bedtime. Amazon Kindle, $129.99.—Nolawie Getu For the coffee lover: French press It may be a budgeting cliché to save money on a daily coffee, but for some it works! As food prices continue to rise, we might be spending even more on coffee next year. A great resolution is to invest in a simple and elegant French press. Coffee machines like Keurig and Nespresso are convenient, but using a French press is far cheaper and less wasteful than buying coffee pods—plus your loved one will have more control over how their morning brew tastes. Master Chef 8-cup French press, $19.99.—Jessica Lopez For a thrifty or eco-conscious friend: Fabric shaver  With this inexpensive gadget, your gift recipient can revive their favourite T-shirts and sweaters and make them look fresh and new again. This rechargeable model from Conair has an easy-grip handle and extra-large shaving head to make quick work of lint, fuzz and pilling, and it’s adjustable for different fabrics. Makes an excellent stocking stuffer… and then you can defuzz the stocking, too. Conair Extreme Fabric Defuzzer, $24.98.—Jaclyn Law For your niece or nephew: Electronic ATM toy If you’re shopping for kids and want to teach them about money, don’t get a piggy bank. Instead, buy an electronic ATM. The Dr. STEM Talking ATM isn’t as small as Mr. Piggy, but it has a cool design that mimics the real ATM experience. The toy is completely functional—you can deposit money, and the digital screen shows a balance. The ATM has a working number pad, and it even includes a mini debit card. Kids aged six or older will have fun and learn about banking and saving money. Ben Franklin Toys Dr. STEM Talking ATM, $68.85.—Jessica Lopez For the bitcoin enthusiast: Crypto hard wallet A great gift for the cryptocurrency enthusiast in your life, the Ledger Nano S Plus hard wallet holds up to 100 apps and supports over 5,500 tokens, plus it’s NFT– and DeFi-friendly. Available in five colours. If your gift recipient has been really good this year, you could upgrade to the Bluetooth-enabled Ledger Nano X ($209 including HST). Ledger Nano S Plus, $114 (HST included).—Jaclyn Law For anyone who needs big money energy: Personal finance book  There’s no shortage of personal finance books that focus on levelling up your finances while the going is good. Financial First Aid, published by acclaimed “Mixed Up Money” blogger Alyssa Davies earlier this year, offers a roadmap for when times are, well, less good. This highly accessible, 240-page guide will help your loved ones prepare for financial emergencies big and small. Davies’ own illustrations add levity to the book. Financial First Aid, paperback $23.99, e-book $10.99.—J.D. For a tech-obsessed sibling: Rechargeable batteries and charger  Batteries might not seem like an exciting gift, but considering that people buy them over and over again, giving someone a set of rechargeables will save them lots of time and money. Plus, you’ll help them declutter their home, with fewer dead batteries to deal with. This Energizer charger comes with four AA batteries. Energizer Rechargeable AA and AAA Battery Charger, $23.99.—N.G. For anyone who’s forgetful: Lost and get found tag Apple’s AirTag will help your giftee track their stuff—from keys and wallets to luggage and bikes—when it’s lost or stolen. The tag has a built-in speaker and can be clipped onto a keyring or slipped into a pocket. To find it, use the Find My app (yes, the same one you use to find your phone somewhere in the house) or ask Siri, and

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[ad_1] Ivory Coast completes second shipping container terminal [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] One Evacuee Dies in Refugee Camp after Cianjur Earthquake  Tempo.co English Govt to open public kitchens in Jakarta, Bekasi for Cianjur refugees  ANTARA English Ministry ensures protection for women, children at Cianjur shelters  ANTARA English Damage in Cianjur’s creative economy center minimal: Uno  ANTARA English View Full coverage on Google News [ad_2]

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[ad_1] EU delays talks on Russian oil price cap until next week – diplomats [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] This week, Cut the Crap Investing founder, Dale Roberts, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors. It’s wonderful to be back writing “Making sense of the markets this week” at MoneySense. I am gladly filling in for a few weeks while Kyle Prevost is away on a dream family vacation.  The Fed tries to crush investors’ hopes I’ll start with my take on what the heck has been going on in the markets over the last few weeks. While the story evolves, the main theme hasn’t changed since the last time I penned this column, back in early August. The U.S. Federal Reserve and central banks around the world are raising interest rates to attempt to cool spending and bring down inflation. U.S. stock markets entered a bear market (down over 20% from their peak) in June, but they were rallying in August on the hopes of a Fed pivot.  But that rally stalled. Markets fell hard again. And then they recovered again.  In late November, we are now about six weeks into another uptrend. And, investors are on a roller coaster ride.  Here are the S&P 500 returns over the past year.  Source: Google  When markets go down, investors are often anticipating a recession. When they go up, investors are thinking we’ll get a “soft landing” or are suggesting they don’t think the central banks are that serious about continuing with their aggressive rate hike cycle.  The Fed and other central banks are trying to curb the enthusiasm of consumers. But at times, investors are having none of that tough talk.  Federal Reserve officials made a series of speeches over the last two weeks, indicating that the interest rate hikes needed to fight inflation would continue. On Thursday, November 17, St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, said the central bank still has a lot of work to do before it brings inflation under control. Of course the markets went down aggressively, then up, even in a single trading session.   Here’s a market direction scorecard:  The Fed says: “We’re raising rates.” Markets go down. Investors say: “Nah, you’ll chicken out.” Markets go up. You can also follow the bouncing ball on my blog. My recent Sunday Reads posts have included: The markets hope and pray for a rate hike hiatus, inflation cools and stock markets rip, and the Fed pivot turned into a divot.  The Fed Minutes  This week, the U.S. Federal Reserve released the minutes from its last meeting in October 2022, when it raised the overnight rate by 75 bps or 0.75%. Here is a very good summary courtesy of Yahoo Finance.  Essentially, there was a whole lot of fuss about nothing. Or in Shakespearean terms: “Much ado about nothing.”  As anticipated, the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes. Meaning, instead of 0.75% hikes, we might see 0.50% or 0.25% hikes. The markets moved higher thanks to that confirmation. The S&P 500 moved back above 4,000, recording its first close above that mark since September 12.  Here’s more from that Yahoo Finance post:  “ ‘A number of participants observed that, as monetary policy approached a stance that was sufficiently restrictive to achieve the Committee’s goals, it would become appropriate to slow the pace of increase in the target range for the federal funds rate,’ the minutes showed. “‘In addition, a substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate.’ ” That said, the Fed also sees persistent inflation as a problem, and it may have to take rates to a level higher than previously expected.  What does that mean? Here’s Fed Speak translation: That’s the terminal rate, where the rate hikes will peak.  Projections from the Fed’s September policy meeting pointed to rates peaking at 4.6% next year. They will soon update their terminal rate projection. The market consensus is that we will see a 0.5% hike in December, followed by one or more 0.25% hikes.  Wall Street is growing confident that the Fed might be able to pull off a so-called soft landing. The Dow soared 14% in October, its best month since January 1976. The Dow is up another 4.5% in November.  These are fascinating and challenging times—but what’s an investor to do?  The markets have been whipsawing all over the place, reacting and guessing. You don’t have to join them. You could stick to your investment plan. If you’re in the accumulation stage, you could keep buying on a regular schedule. Always, make sure you’re investing within your risk tolerance. If you’re in the retirement stage, you should already be prepared for all of the uncertainties. You might have a look at all-weather models in the advanced couch potato portfolios. Earnings still trickle in  Earnings season is still underway, but it is winding down. Recently, many retailers have been reporting earnings that have been quite strong. Consumers have been holding up quite well, but there are reports that folks are ringing up credit card debt to keep spending. That can only last for so long. This week, Canadian retail darling, Alimentation Couche-Tard, reported a very strong quarter. I include Couche-Tard as a pick in the Canadian Wide Moat Portfolio. When you own most every street corner offering fuel and snacks, that gets close to an economic moat.  In September 2020, I may have fuelled your curiosity on MoneySense.  In that column, I wrote about their scalable business model:  “In two words: disciplined acquisitions. Couche-Tard has proven many times over the past decade that it can pay a fair price for their acquisitions and then integrate convenience store chains in their model and make them more profitable.”  This week, it reported that revenue increased to CAD$4.1 billion, up 3.0% year-over-year. Same store revenues increase by 5.6%.  Net earnings were CAD$810.4 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, compared with CAD$694.80 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2022. Adjusted net earnings were approximately CAD$838 million compared with $693

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[ad_1] JPMorgan Downgrades Lufax Holding Ltd to Underweight [ad_2] Source link

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